Canberra, Wednesday 22 May 2002

Meeting of the minds attracts Dalai Lama

His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, will be a guest speaker at the Mind and Science Forum hosted by The Australian National University this Friday.

The Forum will address the topics "Why is so much that our minds do non-conscious?" and "What does it mean for our concept of mind?"

It is a unique attempt to address these issues and provide an exchange of ideas and insights using a panel of leading figures from the fields of religion, science and philosophy.

Scientists now realise that we don't see the world as it actually is but, rather, coloured by what we already know. This has been a tenet of Buddhist thinking for nearly 1,400 years.

Reconciliation between Asian and Western approaches to the mind is now possible due to advances in technologies for studying mental activity in the brain.

The Forum's keynote speaker is Professor Allan Snyder, Director of the ANU/University of Sydney's Centre for the Mind.

Professor Snyder has theorised that answers often pop into the conscious brain when they are least expected: "What is so remarkable about our brain is the fact that the non-conscious is the real executive in charge. It is our non-conscious mind that plays the decision-making role in so many matters that are crucial to our well being and it seems to have virtual dictatorial power about what is best for our survival. Perhaps there is a genuine synergy - on one side we have our Western scientific theories of the non-conscious and on the other side we have the Buddhist tradition of thought with its meditation providing access to the non-conscious," Professor Snyder said.

The moderator is Robyn Williams. Other speakers include University of Sydney neuroscientist, Professor Maxwell Bennett; Macquarie University philosopher and physicist Professor Paul Davies; ANU philosopher Professor Frank Jackson and University of Queensland's Professor Jack Pettigrew, whose research focuses on human and animal use of the senses.

When: Friday 24 May, 2.30pm to 4.30pm
Where: Llewellyn Hall, School of Music, ANU

PLEASE NOTE: Places for working journalists and photographers are strictly limited. Prior notification and approval is necessary due to security arrangements.

For media access to the event, further information and photographs:
Genevieve Turville, ANU Public Affairs on 02 6125 6125 or 0416 249 245
For interviews contact:
Professor Allan Snyder, Director, Centre for the Mind on 02 6125 2626 or 0418 633 247

No 59/2002

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XX/2002

© 2000 Marketing & Communications Division,
The Australian National University.
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Last Modified Tue, July 16, 2002