Kaip mus rasti Telefonas Klaustukas Sitemap
Naujienos iliustracija 5 May 2026

VU Discussion Club: Mind - How to Understand It?

The mind often feels like a given — it allows us to think, feel, decide, and create. Yet we rarely pause to ask: what actually is the mind, and where are its boundaries? Are we our mind or are we separate?

On 14 May, Thursday, at 18:00 together with a neuroscientist, psychiatrist, philosopher, and AI specialist, we invite you to explore the mind from different perspectives: as a biological process, a subjective experience, a structure of thought, and increasingly — as something we attempt to recreate through technology. 

Participants 

  • Prof. Igor Branchi - Senior Researcher and Group leader at the Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Italian Institute of Health, Rome, Italy.
  • Prof. Dr. Claus Normann – Psychiatrist and Researcher at University of Freiburg
  • Prof. Kristupas Sabolius – philosopher and writer, Institute of Philosophy, Vilnius Univeristy
  • Dr. Linas Petkevičius – researcher at the Institute of Computer Science, Vilnius University 

The discussion will be moderated by VU Life Sciences Center PhD student Ieva Šiugždaitė. 

Is the mind simply the result of neural activity? How do physical processes give rise to consciousness, experience, and the sense of self? Or is the mind not confined to the brain at all — emerging instead through language, relationships, and culture? How do neural processes give rise not only to consciousness, but to meaning? How does language influence memory, identity, and the sense of self? 

Today, as we build systems that can imitate aspects of thinking, the question becomes even more complex: can we understand the mind by trying to replicate it? Does artificial intelligence bring us closer to an answer, or does it reveal how much we still do not understand? 

This discussion is an invitation to pause and reconsider something that feels familiar, yet remains deeply unresolved.

REGISTRATION

The event will be held in English and will take place in the Events Area (Room 305, 3rd floor) at the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (Gedimino Ave. 51, Vilnius). 

The event is organized by Vilnius University and the Statehood Centre of the National Library.