Consciousness, Self and The Brain | IN PERSON

Note. This is a hybrid event. This is the event page for IN PERSON tickets at Jamyang Buddhist Centre. To purchase tickets to the online event please click here.

Join us for a thought-provoking dialogue exploring the intersection of contemplative wisdom and scientific inquiry in this hybrid event, held live at Jamyang London Buddhist Centre and online, as we launch our new online course, "Exploring Consciousness: Scientific & Contemplative Approaches".

This special event brings together two distinguished experts: Buddhist scholar Geshe Tenzin Namdak and consciousness researcher Prof. Anil Seth, who will investigate the fundamental questions of how consciousness arises, the relationship between brain and mind, and what ancient contemplative traditions and modern science can learn from each other.

The conversation will address the "hard problem" of consciousness, examining how subjective experience emerges from physical processes in the brain, and explore Buddhist perspectives on consciousness that have developed over millennia of rigorous contemplative investigation. Our speakers will discuss cutting-edge theories like predictive processing and the neural correlates of consciousness alongside Buddhist concepts of mind, self, and awareness, creating a bridge between these different approaches to understanding human experience.

This launch event offers a taste of the comprehensive exploration available in our full online course, Exploring Consciousness, providing valuable insights for those interested in neuroscience, philosophy of mind, Buddhist psychology, or anyone curious about the nature of consciousness and the self.

About the Topics

The relationship between mind and brain represents one of the most profound questions in both science and philosophy. This event will explore:

• The Hard Problem of Consciousness - Why and how physical processes in the brain give rise to subjective experience

• Buddhist Mind Science - Traditional frameworks for understanding the nature of awareness, perception, and cognition

• Self as a "Controlled Hallucination" - Modern neuroscientific theories about how the brain constructs our sense of self

• Neural Correlates of Consciousness - Current research identifying brain activity associated with conscious experience

• Contemplative Practices - How meditation and mindfulness offer tools to investigate consciousness firsthand

• Cross-Tradition Dialogue - The benefits of bringing scientific and contemplative approaches into conversation

These discussions preview the comprehensive exploration offered in our full "Exploring Consciousness" course.

About the Speakers

Geshe Tenzin Namdak

Resident teacher at Jamyang Buddhist London Centre, and part-time tutor at the University of Oxford's Department for Continuing Education, where he teaches Buddhist Mind Science. He first worked as an environmental researcher, having graduated with a bachelor of science degree in hydrology.

He took ordination from His Holiness the Dalai Lama before engaging in his formal studies in Buddhist philosophy and psychology at Sera Jey Monastic University. He completed the entire twenty-year geshe program at Sera Jey and the traditional one-year Vajrayāna study program at Gyüme Tantric College.

As a translator, he contributed to Freedom through Correct Knowing (2022). He teaches worldwide and regularly engages in science and Buddhist philosophy dialogues.

Prof. Anil Seth

Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, Co-Director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Program on Brain, Mind and Consciousness, an ERC Advanced Investigator, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Neuroscience of Consciousness and a Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow. He holds degrees in Natural Sciences (MA, Cambridge, 1996), Knowledge-Based Systems (MSc, Sussex, 1996), and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (Ph.D., Sussex, 2001).

He has published more than 200 papers and is listed in the Web of Science ‘Highly Cited Researcher’ index (2019, 2020, 2021).

His 2017 TED talk has been viewed more than twelve million times, and his new book "Being You: A New Science of Consciousness", was an instant Sunday Times top 10 bestseller, a Guardian book of the week and science book of the year, and a Financial Times science book of the year.

Find out more: www.anilseth.com, @anilkseth

Partners

This event is organised in partnership with Jamyang Buddhist Center London.

Registration

Please purchase your tickets on this page to secure your spot and receive the livestream link.

We want to make this event accessible to everyone. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, please email us at hello@sciwizlive.com.

Please note: This page is for in-person registration only. To register for the online event, please click here.

Recordings

We will record the session and share the recording with attendees after the event.

Submit Your Questions

We invite you to actively participate in this event by submitting your questions in advance. Your inquiries will help shape the dialogue, as our speakers will address selected questions during the event. Whether you're curious about the neural basis of consciousness, Buddhist perspectives on the mind, or the integration of contemplative and scientific approaches, we encourage you to share your thoughts by emailing hello@sciwizlive.com.