 |
|
|
|
2008 MInd and Life Meetings, Conferences and Events
|
|
|
Mind and Life XVIII
The Self, Mental Causation and Free Will:
Exchanges between Science and Buddhism on
the Human Mind
Co-Sponsored by Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften
and Mind and Life International
Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin, Germany
October 17-19, 2008
This upcoming private conference on "The Self, Mental Causation and Free Will" sponsored by
the Mind and Life Institute with His Holiness the Dalai Lama builds on the growing interest in and diverse perspectives on the nature of self and agency in both the human sciences and Buddhist contemplative thinking and practice.
From the perspective of psychological science, the "self" is often seen as the central organizing principle of individuals' existence, and it is to aspects of the self that the possibility of human agency is attributed. However, both neuroscience findings on the self and Buddhist philosophical traditions question both the centrality of self to humanness and the attribution of human agency to the self. Thus, in both contemporary science and contemplative traditions, profound questions about the substantive and functional nature of the self, the more general question of the nature of human nature (i.e., do humans possess freewill or not?), and related ethical and legal issues regarding human culpability and responsibility for action are being raised.
In an effort to probe these questions in more depth and to develop an interdisciplinary, collaborative research agenda that builds on the insights of both contemporary science and contemplative wisdom, Mind and Life International and the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften have assembled a group of scientists, contemplative scholars, and philosophers who, in conjunction with HH Dalai Lama, will address issues regarding self and agency from various perspectives:
What is the nature of self and its role in human action, health and well-being?
Do human beings normally act with high degrees of awareness and intention in ways that
make them authors of their own actions and therefore, accountable for their actions;
or is there evidencethat more automatic and unconscious forces often lie
behind human behavior?
What is the benefit of transcending patterns of living and human relationship centered in
theself and its salience?
Can human beings awaken to even greater levels of awareness and intention that do not
necessarily involve a "self?"
The following speakers will present their perspectives on these and related issues:
Self: John Dunne (Buddhism), Matthieu Ricard (Buddhism), Richard Davidson (Psychology),
Sabina Pauen (Developmental Psychology), Hanno Birken-Bertsch (Philosophy)
Mental Causation & Free Will: Alan Wallace (Buddhism), Wolf Singer (Neuroscience),
Evan Thompson (Philosophy),
Mind and Life Conference XVIII (MLI 18) marks the first event of Mind and Life in Europe, and is the latest in a series of dialogues between scientists, the Dalai Lama, and other Buddhist contemplatives on areas of mutual interest at the intersection of empirical science and the contemplative traditions and their associated methodologies, psychologies, and philosophies.
Most of the previous meetings of Mind and Life have been held in private; however books describing them have been published and are widely available. (See the complete list of Mind and Life books at: www.mindandlife.org/books.pubs_section.html). However, there have been two public meetings (both in the USA). The first public meeting was held at MIT in September of 2003 on Investigating the Mind: The interface between Buddhism and Neuroscience. As a result of that meeting, further studies of various interfaces between neuroscience and the meditative disciplines are currently underway in the laboratories of some of the presenters and participants at that gathering. Investigating the Mind 2005: The Science and Clinical Applications of Meditation was the second public meeting of the Mind and Life Institute consisting primarily of people working in the fields of medicine, clinical psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience, as well as students in these fields.
The next public meeting will be in October 2009 in Washington DC on the topic of Educating World Citizens in the 21st Century: Educators, Scientists and Contemplatives Dialogue on Educating the Heart, Mind and Brain. In addition to these meetings, Mind and Life organizes an annual, week-long Mind and Life Summer Research Institute (MLSRI). The summer institute was started to advance the field of the scientific study of meditation, and a number of studies have also been initiated by participants in that program. Similar initiatives are planned to take place in Europe in the near future.
Please visit the Mind and Life International website for more information.
© Copyright 2008 Mind and Life Institute, Boulder, CO, USA. All rights reserved.
|
|
|
