#227 - Knowing the Mind

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode of the podcast, Stephen Laureys interviews Sam Harris about meditation practice and the scientific study of the mind. They discuss why Sam began to practice meditation, the difference between dualistic and nondualistic mindfulness, the search for happiness, wisdom vs knowledge, our relationship with death, the Buddhist doctrine of rebirth, the hard problem of consciousness, the role of introspection in science, meditation and free will, the self and the brain, the difference between voluntary and involuntary actions, dangerous knowledge, the mystery of being, the power of hypnosis, and other topics.</span></p> <p><strong>Steven Laureys,</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">MD, PhD, FEAN (Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology),</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is a Belgian neurologist, neuroscientist, author, and speaker. He has written several publications including </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3qCo3Xu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Neurology of Consciousness: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropathology</span></em></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and the well-received </span><a href="https://amzn.to/37ITR4b" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">La M&eacute;ditation, c&rsquo;est bon pour le cerveau</span></em></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which will be published in English as <em><a href="https://amzn.to/3oEi2rl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The No-Nonsense Meditation Book</a></em> in April 2021 (UK) and June 2021 (US).</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr. Laureys also maintains a clinical practice at the University Hospital of Li&egrave;ge where his research focuses on understanding consciousness, meditation, and the mind.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Website: <a href="https://www.drstevenlaureys.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">drstevenlaureys.org</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-we