BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//132.216.98.100//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.20.4//
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:20260805T220107EDT-3913HbGVNc@132.216.98.100
DTSTAMP:20260806T020107Z
DESCRIPTION:In partnership with the Faculty of Religious Studies\nsponsored
  by the Centre for Research on Religion (CREOR)\, the SCS\nunit Personal a
 nd Cultural Enrichment will offer a series of seven\nlectures on Religion 
 and the Brain. Lectures will be delivered on\nthe 91Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Campus\, in the B
 irks Building at 3520 University Street\non Tuesday and Wednesday evenings
  at 5:30pm.\n \nLecture 1\nOctober 5\, 2011\nMeditation and Spiritual Tran
 sformation\nWhether referred to as yoga\, bhavana (mental cultivation)\, o
 r\nsamadhi (meditation)\, the use of some form of inner spiritual\nexercis
 e or contemplative practice as a means for spiritual\ntransformation has b
 een an important shared feature across many of\nIndia's great classical sp
 iritual traditions. In Buddhism\, not only\ndo we observe numerous such pr
 actices we also find extensive\ntheoretical and phenomenological enquiry i
 nto understanding the\nprocess of transformations these practices are supp
 osed to lead to.\nThe last two decades saw a rapid growth in the interest 
 on the part\nof scientists in studying some of these contemplative practic
 es\,\nespecially Buddhist derived meditations such as mindfulness\,\nfocus
 ed attention\, loving-kindness and compassion. Several social\nand histori
 cal factors underlie this phenomenon - the invention of\nsophisticated ima
 ging tools like fMRI\, discovery of\nneuroplasticity\, and the emergence o
 f secularized forms of Buddhist\nmeditation practices\, as well as the act
 ive promotion of dialogues\nbetween science and contemplative insights by 
 the Dalai Lama.\nFollowing a brief explanation of a traditional Buddhist\n
 understanding of the process of spiritual transformation through\nmeditati
 on\, I shall present an overview of the current state of the\nfield vis-à-
 vis scientific study of Buddhist derived meditations\,\nwith an emphasis o
 n the need to appreciate the diverse\nconstituencies that exists even with
 in the scientists doing\nmeditation research. I shall also speak of the pr
 oblems and\nchallenges that are inherent in the current scientific researc
 h on\nmeditation\, both on the conceptual as well as practical\nlevel.\n\n
 \nLecture 2\nOctober 11\, 2011\nReligion\, Evolution and Cognition\n\n\nLe
 cture 3\nOctober 18\, 2011\nThe Cognitive Foundations of Religious\nUniver
 sals\nMuch research in the cognitive science of religion emphasizes the\nu
 niversality and naturalness of certain features of religious\nthinking and
  behaviour. Examples include certain qualities\nattributed to supernatural
  agents (e.g. gods and ghosts)\, which\nhumans everywhere appear to recogn
 ize with minimal need for\ninstruction. But there is also growing evidence
  that many religious\nconcepts require considerable cognitive\, social\, a
 nd technological\nresources to create\, remember\, and pass on. This talk 
 summarizes\nthe latest findings of the 'Explaining Religion' project\, a l
 arge\ncollaborative research programme that aims to identify and explain\n
 patterns of recurrence and variation\, past and present\, in the\nworld's 
 many religious traditions.\n\n\nLecture 4\nOctober 26\, 2011\nReasoning Ab
 out Ritual\nAlthough often conceptualized in contradictory terms\, I argue
  that\nthe common assumption that natural and supernatural explanations\na
 re incompatible is psychologically inaccurate. I propose instead\nthat the
  same individuals use both natural and supernatural\nexplanations to inter
 pret the very same events and that there are\nmultiple ways in which both 
 kinds of explanations coexist in\nindividual minds. To support this claim\
 , I will review converging\ndevelopmental data from diverse cultural conte
 xts in three areas of\nbiological thought: the origin of species\, illness
 \, and death.\nContrary to traditional accounts of cognitive development\,
  I argue\nthat supernatural explanations often increase\, rather than decr
 ease\nwith age and propose that reasoning about supernatural phenomena as
 \nan integral and enduring aspect of human cognition.\n\n\nLecture 5\nNove
 mber 2\, 2011\nChildrens’ Acquisition of Religion\n\n\nLecture 6\nNovember
  9\, 2011\nNeuroscience\, Religion and Morality\n\n\nLecture 7\nNovember 1
 6\, 2011\nReligious Experience\, Music and the Brain\n\n\n
DTSTART:20111005T213000Z
DTEND:20111116T223000Z
LOCATION:Birks Building\, CA\, QC\, Montreal\, H3A 2A7\, 3520 rue Universit
 y
SUMMARY:Religion and the Brain Lecture Series
URL:/channels/event/religion-and-brain-lecture-series-
 182604
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR