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:

• FREE: audio mp3 (click to stream, right click to download)
• Episode Transcript [Buy for $1]
• Premium Subscribers  have unlimited access to all old episodes and transcripts.
• The most recent 25 episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are still FREE. See the individual show notes for links the audio files.

Related Episodes:

• BSP 5: Very brief introduction to Philosophy of Mind.
• BSP 55:  Patricia Churchland, PhD, discusses Neurophilosophy.
• BSP 58: Alva Noë, 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 recommendation: The 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).
• Please share your feedback about this episode by sending email to brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com or going to the Brain Science Podcast Discussion Forum at http://brainscienceforum.com. You can also post to our fan pages on Facebook or Google+. I am looking for help with these community pages so please email me at brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com if you are interested.

International Journal of Dharma Studies - Vol 1, No 5 [Open Access]

The fifth issue of the International Journal of Dharma Studies is out and available to download.

Editors in Chief

• Rita D. Sherma, University of Southern California
• Purushottama Bilimoria, Berkeley University / University of Melbourne

International Journal of Dharma Studies aims to (i) investigate, present, interpret, and envision the shared and distinct categories of the life-worlds of the Indic Religions, globally, in a (ii) multidisciplinary format with articles from Religious Studies, Philosophy, Ethics, Cultural Studies, Musicology, Film, Contemporary Issues, Sociology, Anthropology, and the Arts, within (iii) a structure that maintains the rigor of conventional academic discourse, but adds methodological contextualization and investigative, epistemic, hermeneutical and evaluative perspectives from these religious and cultural traditions (iv) in conversation with the world’s religions and the concerns of our time.

Research

Historical consciousness and traditional Buddhist narratives Gross, RM. International Journal of Dharma Studies 2013, 1:5 (27 January 2014)

Research

Buddhist Universities in the United States of America Storch, T. International Journal of Dharma Studies 2013, 1:4 (12 December 2013)

Research

Theories of knowledge and the experience of being: Jainism’s ontology of kinship Vallely, A. International Journal of Dharma Studies 2013, 1:3 (14 November 2013)

Research

The Dharma Paradigm and Ethos Some Insights from Jainism and Vedānta Long, JD. International Journal of Dharma Studies 2013, 1:2 (14 November 2013)

Research

Sri Aurobindo, India, and ideological discourse Banerji, D. International Journal of Dharma Studies 2013, 1:1 (14 November 2013)

Not really my view on consciousness, but who knows, at this point, what consciousness really is or how it works . . . and why?

His book is The Journey Home: Autobiography of an American Swami (2010). Here is a little article from Radhanath Swami's site:

Three Planes of Consciousness

April 30, 2013

Essentially there are three planes of consciousness: enjoyment, renunciation and devotion.

1. Enjoyment

In order to survive, the environment is geared towards exploitation. Why? Because of selfishness. We put ourselves in the center and this results in conflict as everyone has a different center.

2. Renunciation

It is taught that there can be no peace in this material existence because everything is temporary and there is so much conflict. To renounce everything and have a deep dreamless sleep – no more pain and suffering, everything is just peaceful! Yet death is not the end, so the problem is that you are going to be reborn according to your karma.

3. Devotion

This path recognizes that the highest of all solutions is to understand who we are, who is our origin and to live in harmony with that. We are meant to serve and to be selfless. To put God in the center and eternally be connected to Him. Harmony is there because we have a common interest.

The path of devotion transforms the material world to the spiritual world through consciousness. We need to find the spiritual world within ourselves – to find the love, peace, compassion within ourselves and to be instruments of that within the world - Radhanath Swami

Consciousness: The Missing Link by Radhanath Swami, Talks at Google

Published on Jun 28, 2013

Despite decades of advancement in science and technology, we are somehow facing increasingly complex problems to solve -- both individual and collective -- even in the most affluent nations: identity issues, high divorce rates, unexpected violence, high school dropouts, teenage pregnancy, environmental crisis, energy shortage, unemployment rates, unstable economy, rising healthcare costs, etc. Why and where is the disconnect ?

The Vedic model of consciousness that's described in the ancient Sanskrit texts of India provides dramatically fresh insights into the root cause of these problems -- and their solutions -- in the most unexpected way. In this talk, Radhanath Swami will explore the inner workings of consciousness based on this model and discuss its application in the modern day context.

Speaker's Bio:
Radhanath Swami is a renowned Vedic scholar, a highly respected bhakti-yoga teacher and author. As a counter-cultural young American teenager, he left a promising career behind 40 years ago and hitchhiked all the way across the world in search of deeper meaning of life. Convinced from his world travels that the fundamental problems of the society are simply caused by basic human frailties irrespective of race, nationality, sex or economic status, he dedicated his life to the exploration of solutions to the world's problems through advancement of human consciousness. He is currently based in New York and travels frequently giving presentations and workshops at universities, corporate venues, community, yoga and cultural centers.