Tibetan and Himalayan Library - THL

Description: Philosopher of mind Evan Thompson provides a model for a methodologically and ethically mature science of consciousness using "first-person" (introspective) methods to understand the mind and human experience. He draws extensively on the Western phenomenological tradition and modern psychology to present four different ways about thinking of empathy and its relation to first-person, conscious experience. Empathy, he suggests, is a way for the third-person approach of the cognitive sciences to engage and collaborate with first- person, introspective methods for understanding consciousness. He also looks at Buddhist models of empathy based on a classic Buddhist text by the Indian saint Shantideva. This website includes photos of the event, a transcript of the lecture and panel discussion, and a webcast of lecture, peer-response, and discussion. (Zach Rowinski 2004-05-20)

Means of availability: The video webcasts of the lecture, introductory remarks, peer-response, and panel discussion require RealPlayer.

Associated Information:

Varela, F., Thompson, E., Rosch, E. The embodied mind : cognitive science and human experience. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1991.

Information on the Science, Religion, and the Human Experience lectures series

Homepage of Evan Thompson