Lectures, meetings and concerts held within the framework of the fourth Copernicus Festival are aimed to show different relations between people’s emotions and the human-made culture.

From May 23 to 28, 2017, Copernicus Festival, one of the most important festivals in Poland from the intersection of science and art, will take place in Kraków. Its participants will reflect upon the questions of whether the opposition “reason vs. emotion” is valid, whether  it is possible for a community to function without emotions, whether art is only a means of expressing emotions or it is a manifestation of reason, how emotions influence our cognition, and whether animals experience emotions in the same way as human beings.

During the festival, it will be possible to listen to presentations and discussions in English featuring world famous scholars and thinkers. They will be held in the National Museum in Kraków at al. 3 Maja 1.

May 24, Wednesday, 7.00 p.m.

Lecture "The Strange Order of Things: Homeostasis, Feeling, and the Making of Cultures" by Hanna and Antonio Damasio, leading representatives of the affective revolution in psychology. The lecture will be followed by a short debate on the relationship between reason and emotion. Registration is required (at damasio@copernicusfestival.com). The registered participants are required to come at least 20 minutes before the start of the lecture.

May 25, Thursday, 7.00 p.m.

Lecture “The Origins of Moral (and Immoral) Sentiments” by the eminent psychologist Karen Wynn, followed by a debate on social emotions, featuring Karen Wynn and the next day’s speaker Paul Bloom.

May 26, Friday, 7.00 p.m.

Lecture “Against Empathy” by Paul Bloom, an eminent psychologist and science communicator.

May 27, Saturday, 7.00 p.m.

Lecture “Stuff Matters” by Mark Miodownik, a materials scientist and author of widely read popular science books.