Neuroscience and Spirituality to be Explored at Phenomenology Symposium

Psychiatrist, cultural critic and author Dr. Iain McGilchrist, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, will be the featured speaker at Contemplation and Beyond: Phenomenology, Neuroscience and the Spiritual, the 34th annual Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center Symposium at Duquesne University.

The two-day seminar will be held on Thursday, March 17, and Friday, March 18, in the Africa Room of the Union.

McGilchrist is well-known for his book, The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World, which argues that the division of the brain into two hemispheres is essential to human existence, making possible incompatible versions of the world, with very different priorities and values.

“Blending cutting-edge neuroscience with the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Ludwig Wittgenstein, McGilchrist explores in his book the logic(s) of the artistic, scientific, philosophical and religious history of Western culture in order to call those of us in Western culture back to the embodied life-world,” explained Dr. Jeffrey McCurry, phenomenology center director.

McGilchrist’s presentations will include:

  • The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World at 2 p.m. on March 17 in the Phenomenology Center
  • Phenomenology, Neuroscience, and the Spiritual at 9 a.m. on March 18 in the Phenomenology Center
  • The Power of No: On the Apophatic Path to God at 2 p.m. on March 18 in the Power Center Ballroom.

While McGilchrist’s first two presentations are full/closed, the campus community is invited to attend the 2 p.m. presentation on Friday.

“McGilchrist’s work in phenomenology, neuroscience, psychiatry and history shows the deep significance of phenomenology as a witness to modern humanity about the enduring value and truth of human experience in a culture of arid rationalism, mechanism and disembodiment,” added McCurry.

Contemplation and Beyond is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the event’s website or email mccurryj@duq.edu.