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 … Read more
Here are some of the best books I have been exposed to this year. Obviously, I cannot read everything, so this is a partial list at best. They are listed in alphabetical order. Descriptive text is from the publisher’s blurb on Amazon. A few of these books warrant the RECOMMENDED READ classification. Adult Attachment Patterns … Read more
This hit the news a couple of weeks ago (Oct. 16), but I am just now getting around to posting it. This is a huge breakthrough in understanding the mechanisms of consciousness, and it also provides a way to identify true brain death from “locked-in” syndrome. I include here a summary of the research from … Read more
Steve Fleming, whose blog is The Elusive Self, offers a review/overview of a new theory of consciousness, as outlined by Michael Graziano in his 2013 book, Consciousness and the Social Brain. I happen to have this book, but I have not gotten around to reading it. In the front matter of the book there is … Read more
Tony Nader is an MD and has a PhD in cognitive science from MIT, and despite this solid education, he has become a leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement surrounding the figure of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. I have nothing against TM as a meditation technique (aside from its tendency to promote spiritual bypass of hard … Read more
Frederick Travis, PhD, is the director of the Center for Brain, Consciousness, and Cognition at the Maharishi University of Management, an institution dedicated to promoting transcendental meditation (TM [image a copyright symbol here]) in all possible venues. This talk was given at Stanford University. We Create Our Reality Published on Aug 1, 2014 Frederick Travis, … Read more
This hypothesis and theory article from the open access journal Frontiers in Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology is very in-depth and thought provoking. The main sticking point for me, however, is the first of the three primary premises Earl sets forth: (1) contrary to one’s intuitive understanding, consciousness does not have an active, executive role in … Read more
The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences hosts every Thursday Neuroscientists from around the globe to present their recent study. Earlier this year, Stanislas Dehaene gave a talk on the work of his lab in understanding the signatures of consciousness, the distinct markers of brain activity that correlate with subjective reports of conscious … Read more
Stanislas Dehaene: Consciousness and the Brain: Deciphering How the Brain Codes Our Thoughts (2014); $27.95 hardcover, $20.93 at Amazon. Publisher’s ad-copy: A breathtaking look at the new science that can track consciousness deep in the brain How does our brain generate a conscious thought? And why does so much of our knowledge remain unconscious? Thanks … Read more
John Hagelin is a particle physicist and director of the Transcendental Meditation movement for the United States. When he was still a serious physicist, he was a researcher at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) (1981–1982) and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) (1982–1983). Hagelin is now Professor of Physics and Director of … Read more