Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
October 1, 2021
Steve Paulson, Marcelo Gleiser, Tania Lombrozo et al.
Einstein famously claimed that "the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible." This statement suggests that no amount of scientific explanation will suffice to make sense of the bizarre situation of the human mind within the universe. So what are the actual roles of awe and wonder within the framework of contemporary science? How, for instance, do awe and...
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
December 1, 2019
Steve Paulson, Donald D Hoffman, Suzanne O'Sullivan
The prevalent view in cognitive science is that we construct our perception of reality in real time. But could we be misinterpreting the content of our perceptual experiences? Does what we perceive with our brain and senses reflect the true nature of reality? Might evolution have shaped our perceptions to guide adaptive behavior, without enabling us to see reality as it actually is? In a...
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
November 1, 2018
Steve Paulson, Jay Lombard, Massimo Pigliucci et al.
Where can we turn to find the story of our lives-an existential roadmap that explains where we have come from, why we are here, and where we are headed? Must each of us discover meaning within the context of our individual lives, or are there universal sources of meaning that we can all access? Is there any relationship between living a meaningful life and the quality of our health and...
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
October 1, 2017
Steve Paulson, Siri Hustvedt, Mark Solms et al.
As science continues to explore the mysteries of the unconscious, two critical questions remain. First, can unconscious impulses, desires, and feelings be willfully raised to the level of the conscious self?, and, if so, would the unveiling of unconscious mechanisms lead to genuine self-knowledge or empowerment? Second, can we methodically tap into the unconscious to gear ourselves along more...
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
October 1, 2017
Steve Paulson, Deirdre Barrett, Kelly Bulkeley et al.
Where do our dreams originate from, and what do they tell us? Is there a universal set of symbols that are common to all dreams, regardless of a person's ethnicity or culture? What does dreaming reveal about the unconscious? Why do some dreams remain etched in our memories, whereas others are almost instantly forgotten? Some scientists have adopted the position that dreams are little more than...
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
November 1, 2013
Steve Paulson, Richard J. Davidson, Amishi P. Jha et al.
108 citations
Many of us go through our daily lives on autopilot, not fully aware of our conscious experiences. In a discussion moderated by Steve Paulson, executive producer and host of To the Best of Our Knowledge, neuroscientists Richard Davidson and Amishi Jha and clinical mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn explore the role of consciousness in mental and physical health, how we can train our minds to be...