The contemporary craze for brain sciences is based on their promise and the public belief that they are capable of explaining mental disorders, educational difficulties and even social inequalities. Yet they have done little to improve psychiatric or educational practices. There is a real gap between the triumphant discourse delivered and widely disseminated to the general public, and the reality of scientific advances. Emphasis on the individual brain comes at the expense of collective responsibilities, in terms of child education, support for disadvantaged families or patient care. By celebrating brain plasticity, neuroscience discourse promotes a neoliberal ideal of autonomy, flexibility and adaptability. Among scholarly discourses, neuroscience is difficult to criticize because of its technicality and the sometimes abusive extrapolations made from limited measurements.
During this seminar, François Gonon, Director of Research at the CNRS, will present his book entitled "Neurosciences: un discours néolibéral. Psychiatry, education, inequalities". He will then take questions from participants.
Conference room 1, Multimedia building
Maison de la Recherche
29 av. Robert Schuman
Aix-en-Provence
