Thursday, February 05, 2015

Brain Science Podcast 115: Eastern Philosophy and Western Neuroscience (w/ Evan Thompson)

The new episode of Dr. Ginger Campbell's Brain Science Podcast features a conversation with philosopher Evan Thompson, PhD, about his new book, Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy.

Thompson is one of the leading figures in bridging the gap between Eastern philosophy (specifically Buddhism and the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism) and Western neuroscience. In this book, he examines the connects and disconnects between Dream Yoga (both Buddhist and Vedanta) and neuroscience and neurobiology.

BSP 115: Eastern Philosophy and Western Neuroscience

January 29, 2015 / Ginger Campbell, MD
Brain Science Podcast


Scientific interest in the Mind and Consciousness is relatively new, but both Western and Eastern Philosophy have a long tradition of exploring these topics. In his new book Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy, Evan Thompson explores how these diverse traditions can inform and enrich one another.

Thompson goes beyond a narrow view of consciousness, which focuses only on the waking state. Instead he considers how dreaming, lucid dreaming, and even near death experiences can advance our understanding of how our brain's generate both consciousness and our sense of Self.

Ginger Campbell, MD

How to get this episode:

Related Episodes:

  • BSP 5: Very brief introduction to Philosophy of Mind.
  • BSP 55:  Patricia Churchland, PhD, discusses Neurophilosophy.
  • BSP 58: Alva NoĆ«, PhD, discusses Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness.
  • BSP 67: Thomas Metzinger discusses The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self.
  • BSP 73: Embodied Cognition with Lawrence Shapiro, PhD.
  • BSP 81: Patricia Churchland discusses Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality.
  • BSP 89: Evan Thompson discusses Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind.
  • BSP 96: Robert Burton, MD discusses A Skeptic's Guide to the Mind: What Neuroscience Can and Cannot Tell Us About Ourselves.

Announcements:

  • This month's Audible recommendationThe Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults by Frances E. Jensen, MD
  • The next episode of the Brain Science Podcast will feature Dr. Norman Doidge talking about his new book The Brain's Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity.
  • Reminder: the 25 most recent episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always free, but Premium subscribers have unlimited access to all back episodes and transcripts. The Brain Science Podcast Mobile App is FREE. It is a great way to consume both free and premium content (since this will not appear in iTunes or other podcasting apps).
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