Being Human in a Conscious Universe
Presented by Bill Meacham, Ph.D.
5555 N Lamar Blvd, Bldg D, Suite 115
Tuesday, October 15, 2013, 6:30 p.m.
Co-hosted by INACS and IONS Austin
RSVP at http://bmeacham.eventbrite.com
$5 donation at door appreciated
The subject of consciousness is quite important because, after all, we are all conscious a good part of the time. If we are to understand ourselves, we need to understand consciousness. In this lecture Austin philosopher and author Bill Meacham will discuss the nature of consciousness, the nature of the universe, and how we as conscious beings can best fit in with the larger picture.
The term “consciousness” can mean lots of things, and can be very misleading. The first part of the lecture will help us get clear on what it is that we are talking about.
The metaphysical theory of panpsychism – that everything has a subjective aspect, an aspect that experiences, as well as an objective aspect, an aspect that is experienced – makes more sense than alternatives such as dualism, materialism or idealism. Consciousness – or at least awareness of some kind – is built into the fabric of the universe. The second part of the lecture will explain panpsychism and process-based metaphysics.
Are we all connected into a larger conscious whole? If so, could that be an explanation for seemingly spooky events like intuition, mind reading, remote viewing and other so-called paranormal events? And if we are all connected, what does that say about how we should live our lives? The third part of the lecture will discuss the practical and ethical implications of this profound world view.
After the lecture there will be ample time for discussion.
About the Speaker
Bill Meacham is an independent scholar in philosophy and the author of the book How To Be an Excellent Human and the blog Philosophy for Real Life. He studied philosophy at Williams College, Columbia University, and the University of Texas at Austin. After receiving his doctorate, he spent many years as a computer programmer, systems analyst and project manager. He brings the precision required for good software development to the analysis of philosophical concepts and to the deep questions posed by philosophy: What’s real? How do we know what’s real? And what shall we do about what’s real? Find out more at http://bmeacham.com/.
Links
Web: Bill Meacham, Ph.D.
Blog: Philosophy for Real Life
Blog: The Rag Blog (contributor)
Book: How to Be an Excellent Human
Austin Philosophy Discussion Group
Philosophical Writings
Curriculum Vitae