Tuesday, October 9, 2012

ANATTA (No-Self)

  
The Ego Tunnel

by Prof. Dr. Thomas Metzinger 

TEDxRheinMain


Brain, bodily awareness, and the emergence of a conscious self: these entities and their relations are explored by German philosopher and cognitive scientist Metzinger. Extensively working with neuroscientists he has come to the conclusion that, in fact, there is no such thing as a "self" — that a "self" is simply the content of a model created by our brain — part of a virtual reality we create for ourselves.He will share his thoughts on consciousness and the self and talk about the concept of the Ego-Tunnel.    
 

Pro. Dr. Thomas Metzinger (*1958 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany) is currently Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the Johannes Gutenberg‐Universität Mainz and an Adjunct Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Study. In 2009 he returned from a prestigious one‐year Fellowship at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (Berlin Institute for Advanced Study), is past president of the German Cognitive Science Society and currently president of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness. His focus of research lies in analytical philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophical aspects of the neuro- and cognitive sciences as well as connections between ethics, philosophy of mind and anthropology. He has edited and published extensively in German and English, e.g. one major scientific monograph developing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary theory about consciousness, the phenomenal self, and the first‐person perspective (“Being No One – The Self‐Model Theory of Subjectivity”, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003). In 2009, he published a popular book, which addresses a wider audience and also discusses the ethical, cultural and social consequences of consciousness research (“The Ego Tunnel – The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self”, New York: Basic Books)  
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Laboratory-Induced 
Out-Of-Body Experiences

C N N  


A Swedish researcher has figured out how to create a virtual feeling where you can see how others see you.  
 
"The concept of an individual swapping his or her body with that of another person has captured the imagination of writers and artists for decades. Although this topic has not been the subject of investigation in science, it exemplifies the fundamental question of why we have an ongoing experience of being located inside our bodies. Here we report a perceptual illusion of body-swapping that addresses directly this issue. Manipulation of the visual perspective, in combination with the receipt of correlated multisensory information from the body was sufficient to trigger the illusion that another person's body or an artificial body was one's own. This effect was so strong that people could experience being in another person's body when facing their own body and shaking hands with it. Our results are of fundamental importance because they identify the perceptual processes that produce the feeling of ownership of one's body..."
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All materials used for nonprofit purposes only. 
Sources:  Karolinska Institutet  CNN Paramount Home Entertainment PloS ONE  
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Rubber Hand Experience Video,
Test Your Brain 

National Geographic Channel  
 
  
MORE ...
 
 
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The Ego Illusion is   
the Strongest Prison!  

by Bhikkhu Samahita 

The Blessed Buddha once said:
'I am' is an illusion. 'This I am' is an illusion. 'I shall be' is an illusion. 'I shall not become this or that' is an illusion. 'I shall be of form' is an illusion. 'I shall become formless' is an illusion. 'I shall become endowed with perception' is an illusion. 'I shall become without any perception' is an illusion. 'I shall become neither with nor without perception' is an illusion. Illusion is torture, a mind cancer, and a t horn in the future. If, however, all illusion is overcome, one is called a stilled one, a sage. And the stilled one, the sage, is reborn no more, grows old no more, nor accumulates any future deaths. Why not? That craving, through which he could be reborn, is all eliminated! If he is not reborn, how can he ever grow old? If he never grows old, how can he ever die? If one never dies again, how ever to be in panic? If neither in panic, nor urge, how can one ever be haunted by craving?
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