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SUMMARY:Ancient Hints for a Modern Method of Studying Consciousness - Varu
 n Khanna - Wolfson College member\, PhD student in Consciousness
DTSTART:20141119T130000Z
DTEND:20141119T140000Z
UID:TALK54931@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Graham Allen
DESCRIPTION:The study of “consciousness” has been of interest to scien
 tists\, philosophers\, and laypeople alike for millennia. But the constant
  struggle to define consciousness has been due to its intangible nature. H
 ow can we describe something that we cannot perceive with our senses? We c
 an know what it is like to perceive\, and what it is like to have consciou
 sness\, but it has proven difficult over the millennia to actually pinpoin
 t with a measure of certainty what consciousness actually is. Furthermore\
 , when attempting to study consciousness\, the method by which we can stud
 y it is elusive. Is it necessarily limited to the philosophical realm? Can
  there be a “science of consciousness”?  By current empirical scientif
 ic standards\, it is difficult to study consciousness objectively and holi
 stically because either we do not know enough about the brain or there are
  seemingly nonphysical components to consciousness that are rendered total
 ly subjective by the scientific method. But must the methods employed to s
 tudy consciousness be borrowed from any of the natural scientific discipli
 nes\, like biology\, chemistry\, or physics\, or can it indeed be studied 
 by the psychological or philosophical disciplines\, with an independent ep
 istemology and methodology? Today we have many distinct and arguable philo
 sophies of consciousness because the study of consciousness is one of the 
 most fundamental studies of humankind\, yet its object is highly elusive t
 o systematic enquiry. It is an ancient study\, but also a contemporary stu
 dy. In this research\, we take a look at the methods of studying conscious
 ness according to a set of ancient Indian texts\, namely the Upaniṣads\,
  whose sole purpose seems to have been the understanding of consciousness.
  By looking at these ancient texts\, we may gain some insight into develop
 ing a modern method of studying consciousness.
LOCATION:Combination Room\, Wolfson College
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