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READING RECOMMENDATIONS

A Day on Changing Consciousness

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Prof. Donald Hoffman, PhD - The Weekend University

Is Reality an Illusion?

Professor Donald Hoffman, PhD
Dr Philip Goff, PhD- The Weekend University

Panpsychism: Is Everything Conscious?

Dr Philip Goff, PhD
Dr Sam Gandy, PhD - The Weekend University

From Ego-Centric to Eco-Centric: Changing Consciousness through Psychedelics

Dr Sam Gandy, PhD
A Day on Changing Consciousness - The Weekend University

Change how you see the world in this day of talks exploring the fascinating mysteries of human consciousness.

Right now, tens of billions of neurons are working together in your brain so that you can read these words.  How does this happen?  For the longest time, consciousness was life’s greatest mystery; something we thought we’d never understand.  Indeed, attempts to understand how the brain produces consciousness have, until now, been unsuccessful, leading many to conclude that it’s an unsolvable problem.  However, new developments in cutting-edge neuroscience, physics, and evolutionary biology are beginning to show that we may have been looking in the wrong place, and that the materialist assumption that consciousness arises only as a result of brain processes is not only reductionist, but also scientifically inaccurate.  In this conference, we’ll explore consciousness paradigms that go beyond the brain, how they work, why they matter, and how understanding them can enhance your everyday experience of reality.

Content

  • Panpsychism: Is Everything Conscious? Why attempts to explain consciousness from within the current scientific paradigm have largely been unsuccessful, the case for panpsychism and how consciousness may be a fundamental feature of all physical matter (from subatomic particles to the human brain), and the practical implications this has for how we see the world, and live our lives - Dr Philip Goff, PhD
  • Is Reality an Illusion? The growing evidence base showing how the 'reality' we see everyday might be an illusion created by our minds, why we don't see what's really there, but instead only what helps us to survive, and how understanding this can fundamentally change both how you see the world, and how you interact with it - Professor Donald Hoffman, PhD (via video live link)
  • From Ego-Centric to Eco-Centric: Changing Consciousness through Psychedelics; How these extraordinary organisms transform our worldview, enhance our connection to nature, and the implications this has for human wellbeing and the planet at a time of growing disconnection and ecological destruction - Dr Sam Gandy, PhD

Event Schedule:

  • 10:00am – 12:00pm: From Ego-Centric to Eco-Centric: Changing Consciousness through Psychedelics - Dr Sam Gandy, PhD 
  • 12:00pm – 1:00pm: Lunch 
  • 1:00pm – 3:00pm: Panpsychism: Is Everything Conscious?- Dr Philip Goff, PhD
  • 3:00pm – 3:30pm: Afternoon Break
  • 3:30pm – 5:00pm: Is Reality an Illusion?- Professor Donald Hoffman, PhD (via video live link)

Lectures & Speakers

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From Ego-Centric to Eco-Centric: Changing Consciousness through Psychedelics

There appears to be a growing disconnection between humans and their natural environments which has been linked to poor mental health and ecological destruction. A growing body of research shows that psychedelic usage is associated with enduring increases in nature relatedness, or connectedness, post experience. How and why does this occur, and what are the potential implications of this at a time of growing mental health and ecological crises? Nature relatedness can be considered a measure of one’s self identification with nature, and it is associated with a broad range of measures linked to psychological well-being, while also being a strong predictor of pro-environmental behaviour. What shared overlap is there between  psychedelics and contact with nature in how they can affect our mental state?  And how can we maximise this synergy between nature and psychedelics to improve mental health?

Dr Sam Gandy, PhD - The Weekend University
Dr Sam Gandy, PhD

From Ego-Centric to Eco-Centric: Changing Consciousness through Psychedelics

Dr Sam Gandy is a PhD ecologist, researcher and science writer, and has experience of working within the psychedelic field, as a past scientific assistant to the director of the Beckley Foundation, and as an ecopsychological coordinator and research assistant with the Synthesis Institute. Sam is a lifelong nature lover and has been fortunate enough to conduct ecological field research in various parts of the world. He currently works as a senior science writer for Wavepaths, and consultant for PsiClone, a company which has recently been granted permission from the Home Office to produce psilocybin in organic fungal form. He is also a collaborator with the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, with a research interest in the capacity of psychedelics to influence our connection to nature. You can follow him on Twitter @SamwiseGandy.

Reading Recommendations:

  • Gandy S, Forstmann M, Carhart-Harris RL, Timmermann C, Luke D & Watts R (2020) The potential synergistic effects between psychedelic administration and nature contact for the improvement of mental health. Health Psychology Open 7(2): 1–21.
  • Kettner H, Gandy S, Haijen ECHM & Carhart-Harris RL (2019) From egoism to ecoism: Psychedelics increase nature relatedness in a state-mediated and context-dependent manner. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16(24): 5147.
  • Forstmann M & Sagioglou C (2017) Lifetime experience with (classic) psychedelics predicts pro-environmental behavior through an increase in nature relatedness. Journal of Psychopharmacology 31: 975–988.
  • Gandy S, Watts R, Evans A (2019) The whole-planet view. Aeon.
  • Gandy S (2019) Bridging the Divide : Psychedelic Biophilia & Human Nature Connection. Medium.
  • Gandy S (2020) Psychedelics and nature connection. EcoHustler.

Panpsychism: Is Everything Conscious?

According to our standard view of things, consciousness exists only in the brains of highly evolved organisms, and hence consciousness exists only in a tiny part of the universe and only in very recent history (cosmically speaking). 

According to panpsychism, in contrast, consciousness pervades the universe and is a fundamental feature of it. The view sounds a bit strange, but a growing number of philosophers and neuroscientists are starting to think it might be our best hope for integrating consciousness into our scientific story of the universe. Dr Philip Goff explains why consciousness poses such a challenge for contemporary science and why panpsychism might be the answer.

Dr Philip Goff, PhD- The Weekend University
Dr Philip Goff, PhD

Panpsychism: Is Everything Conscious?

Dr Philip Goff, PhD is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Durham University. Goff’s main research focus is consciousness, but he is interested in many questions about the nature of reality. Goff is most known for defending panpsychism, the view that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of the physical world. 

Goff has authored an academic book with Oxford University Press – Consciousness and Fundamental Reality – and a book aimed at a general audience – Galileo’s Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness. He is currently working on a book exploring the middle ground between God and atheism. Goff has published 45 academic articles as well as writing extensively for newspapers and magazines, including Scientific American, The Guardian, Aeon, and the Times Literary Supplement. The interview with Goff by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gareth Cook was one of the most viewed articles in Scientific American of 2020. You can check more of his work at www.philipgoffphilosophy.com and follow him on Twitter @Philip_Goff.

Reading Recommendations:

  • Galileo’s Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness by Dr Philip Goff, PhD
  • Consciousness and Fundamental Reality (Philosophy of Mind Series) by Dr Philip Goff, PhD
  • Popular Articles by Dr Philip Goff, PhD

Is Reality an Illusion?

If I have a visual experience that I describe as a red tomato a meter away, then I am inclined to believe that there is, in fact, a red tomato a meter away, even if I close my eyes. I believe that my perceptions are, in the normal case, veridical—that they accurately depict aspects of the real world. But is my belief supported by our best science? In particular: Does evolution by natural selection favor veridical perceptions? Many scientists and philosophers claim that it does. But this claim, though plausible, has not been properly tested. In this talk, I present a new theorem: Veridical perceptions are never more fit than non-veridical perceptions which are simply tuned to the relevant fitness functions. This entails that perception is not a window to reality; it is more like a desktop interface on your laptop. I discuss this interface theory of perception and its implications for one of the most puzzling unsolved problems in science: the relationship between brain activity and conscious experiences.

Prof. Donald Hoffman, PhD - The Weekend University
Professor Donald Hoffman, PhD

Is Reality an Illusion?

Prof. Donald Hoffman, PhD received his PhD from MIT, and joined the faculty of the University of California, Irvine in 1983, where he is a Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Sciences. He is an author of over 100 scientific papers and three books, including Visual Intelligence, and The Case Against Reality. He received a Distinguished Scientific Award from the American Psychological Association for early career research, the Rustum Roy Award of the Chopra Foundation, and the Troland Research Award of the US National Academy of Sciences. His writing has appeared in Edge, New Scientist, LA Review of Books, and Scientific American and his work has been featured in Wired, Quanta, The Atlantic, and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman. You can watch his TED Talk titled “Do we see reality as it is?” and you can follow him on Twitter @donalddhoffman.

Reading Recommendations:

  • The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes. 2019. W.W. Norton in the US and Penguin (Allen Lane) in the UK. D. Hoffman.
  • Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See. 1998. W.W. Norton. D. Hoffman.
  • The Case Against Reality: The Tim Ferriss Show. 2022.

What TWU students are saying

attendee testimonals

I have attended 7 weekend University days and now I do not want to miss one because they have all been fantastic and worth dragging myself away from my lie in on a Sunday for. Each of the sessions I have attended have had excellent speakers talking about fascinating areas of Psychology. Having previously studied psychology I really enjoy delving back into the world of attending lectures and absorbing information again without the stress of exams or essays. But even if you have no psychology background I recommend coming to these events, especially if you see a topic you like you will not regret it! Niall not only organises these amazing event days but also now we have access to podcasts and he takes the time to organise a social after the event to meet fellow psychology enthusiasts as well as provide clear and easy instructions on how to get there, a certificate to say you attended the event and even lunch place suggestions which are little added extras which make the whole experience great. I am very glad to have the weekend university in my life and thank Niall and the team for making this happen.
Hannah Alice Howell
Event Attendee
The Weekend University is amazing! They recently hosted the Holistic Change Summit where such great minds were brought together to discuss a wide variety of topics relevant to change, growth and living a meaningful life. The facilitator, Niall, asked excellent questions which really gave the speaker the chance to discuss ideas that many of us wonder about. It was brilliant and I loved it.
Kiden Shae
Summit Attendee
Extremely stimulating events! It brings together great professionals who share their experience in their respective fields to pass their knowledge in a way accessible to the general public and other professionals alike. It is a great way to bring motivated people in the same place! Also, Niall is extremely thoughtful, considerate and driven person. His personal approach and professionalism in making those events happen does not go unnoticed!
Nikolay Petrov
Event Attendee
The most fantastic resource. Have been to a few of The Weekend University days - an incredible initiative bringing all that knowledge down from its Ivory Tower to an accessible and inviting platform - 10/10
Charlie Fooks
Event Attendee
Absolutely excellent day with The Weekend University last Saturday on Attachment and Psychotherapy. Superb speaker who was totally engaging, really useful practical insights, and great organisation. Thank you!
Helen Jane
Event Attendee
I attended an Existential Coaching seminar out of curiosity and ended up being supermotivated and serious to get more into this subject! The event was really went organised, the venue was central and easy to find and the organisers and facilitator were amazing. Totally recomend!
Fiora Maya Touliatou
Seminar Attendee
My first time at the Weekend University on their day of Wellbeing a fantastic event. Excellent venue, thought provoking speakers, interesting topics, really well organised, communication, support material a 5 star rating.
Viryapushpa Nolan
Event Attendee
I attended 'A Day on Sleep and Dreams’ and it was fantastic - excellent speakers and thought provoking content. The Weekend University has been a great discovery and I will defiantly be attending more lectures. The event was really well organised by Niall - informative emails, follow ups etc. I recommend that everyone takes the opportunity to go, you won’t be disappointed!
Hannah Durhager
Event Attendee
This event is nourishment for my mind! The kind of subjects usually reserved for academics is now open to us all and the information is delivered in a way that anyone can understand. The audience was filled with interesting people, hungry to learn and engage in fascinating conversations. We had all day to connect, to learn and to share. Just like a delicious cool drink on a very hot day, my mind felt quenched! Thank you, Niall, for creating this. I will be back!
David Saville
Event Attendee

Tickets

Full Day Pass: £49.99

(includes VAT + Booking Fee)

Student/Unwaged: £26.99

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Date and time

26/06/2022

10:00 – 17:00 BST

Venue

University of Greenwich, 10 Stockwell Street Greenwich, London, SE10 9BD, United Kingdom

Money back guarantee

The Weekend University guarantees an excellent learning experience. If you are not fully satisfied with the day, you will receive 100% of your money back – with no questions asked. Simply contact us on support@theweekenduniversity.com to arrange your refund.

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Date and time

26/06/2022

10:00 – 17:00 BST

Location

University of Greenwich, 10 Stockwell Street Greenwich, London, SE10 9BD, United Kingdom

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TWU Guarantee

The Weekend University seeks to guarantee an excellent learning experience.

If you are not fully satisfied with the day, you will receive 100% of your money back – with no questions asked. Simply contact us on support@theweekenduniversity.com to arrange your refund.

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