SMN Annual Gathering 2019
Shaping the Future of
Consciousness Studies
Horsley Estate, Friday 5th July – Sunday 7th July
PROGRAMME
The 2019 Network Annual Gathering returns to Horsley Park in Surrey from 5-7th July 2019. Following drinks and dinner to welcome our members on the Friday night, this year the programme will begin on Saturday morning and will continue until tea on Sunday. The format will be different from previous years, with a pre-circulated paper from the winner of the Network Book Prize 2018, Emilios Bouratinos. David Lorimer will report on the Science and Consciousness meeting in Interlaken and the live discussion will include Emilios’ colleague Dr Vasilieios Basios from the University of Brussels, consciousness specialist Prof Max Velmans and Editor of the Journal of Consciousness Studies, Prof Valerie Hardcastle. The topic is of special interest following the publication of the Galileo Commission Report.
In the afternoon there will be free time for networking and for short informal presentations from members related to the theme. We will then be joined at 4pm by Dr Larry Dossey from Santa Fe. Please send 150-word abstracts to [email protected] by May 31st at the latest. On Saturday evening we arrange our own entertainment and party.
On Sunday we will have further sessions and will hold our formal Annual General Meeting, where Members have a chance to hear from the officers about our work over the past year, to contribute to the evolving direction of the Network and to elect new members of the Network Board.
For those of you who have not yet attended the Network Annual Gathering, you will find it a wonderfully stimulating and sociable event where you can meet other Members in relaxed surroundings to exchange ideas and experiences.
SCHEDULE
Saturday 6th July
10:00 am onwards – registration and coffee
11:00 Welcoming remarks from Dr Paul Filmore and Dr Peter Fenwick Introductions
11:30 Prof Max Velmans: The Ancient History and Future of Consciousness Studies – chaired by Peter Fenwick
13:00 Lunch
14:30 David Lorimer: Update on the Galileo Commission and Report from Science of Consciousness and SAND conferences
15:00 Dr Vasileios Basios (Skype): A Galileo Moment
15:45 Dr Joan Walton: The Significance of Politics in Researching Consciousness
16:45 Tea
17:15 Prof Marilyn Monk: A Hierarchy of Consciousness
17:45 General discussion to include pre-circulated Emilios Bouratinos paper
18:30 Optional Meditation with Dr Peter Fenwick
19:00 Dinner
20:00 Dr Larry Dossey Interview: One Mind, One Consciousness – where Spirituality Meets Science
20:30 Entertainment and Party
Sunday 7th July
7:30 Meditation or movement
8:00 on Breakfast
9:10 Notices
9:15 AGM – introduced by Paul Filmore
10.30 Coffee
11:00 Continuation and Members’ Forum – introduced by Peter Fenwick
12:45 Lunch
14:00 Practical steps for 2019-2020
15:30 Departures
VENUE
Horsley Park is based round a grand Victorian mansion built in 1828 with an ornate classical chapel, wonderful four-poster beds and Great Hall. We will be using more contemporary accommodation at Horsley Court Horsley Park is set within 70 acres of beautiful parkland, and leisure facilities include a health and fitness club with gym, sauna and indoor swimming pool. Horsley Park is easily accessible from the M25 and A3, and is only a mile and a half from Horsley Railway Station. On weekdays there are two trains every hour from both Waterloo Station and Guildford. A taxi can be booked from Horsley Station by prior arrangement with Reception – Tel: 01483 284211. Accommodation is en suite single or double rooms. Rates include all meals and coffee/tea breaks.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
DR VASILEIOS BASIOS is a senior researcher at the Physics of Complex Systems Department of the University of Brussels, conducting interdisciplinary research on self-organisation and emergence in complex matter as well as aspects of the foundations of complex systems. During his formative years he worked within the team of Ilya Prigogine at the Solvay Institutes for Physics and Chemistry in Brussels. He is interested in the history of ideas in science and their role in the transformation of science beyond the prevailing mechanistic world-view.
DR LARRY DOSSEY is an internal medicine physician, former Chief of Staff of Medical City Dallas Hospital, and former co-chairman of the Panel on Mind/Body Interventions, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health. He is executive editor of the peer-previewed journal Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing. He is the author of twelve books on the role of consciousness and spirituality in health. His most recent book is ONE MIND: How our Individual Mind is Part of a Greater Consciousness and Why It Matters. He lectures around the world and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, with Barbara, his wife, who is a nurse-educator and the author of many awardwinning books. Website: www.dosseydossey.com
PROF VALERIE G HARDCASTLE is Professor of Philosophy, Psychology, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Cincinatti and Editor of the Journal of Consciousness Studies. She studies the nature and structure of interdisciplinary theories in the cognitive sciences and has focused primarily on developing a philosophical framework for understanding conscious phenomena responsive to neuroscientific, psychiatric, and psychological data. Currently, she is investigating the neuroscience of violence and its implications for both our understanding of human nature and the criminal justice system.
PROF MAX VELMANS is emeritus Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He has a lifelong interest in the nature of consciousness and is the author of Understanding Consciousness (second edition 2009) Towards a Deeper Understanding of Consciousness (2017) the Blackwell Companion to Consciousness (second edition 2017) and the four-volume collection “Consciousness (Critical Concepts in Psychology) (2018). Website: www.gold.ac.uk/psychology/staff/velmans/
BOOK BAZAAR
This year we will again be holding a fundraising book bazaar and invite Members to bring their surplus books for sale. You are also welcome to bring copies of your own books for sale on the basis of a 50:50 split of profits with the SMN.
