Wondering where to learn about Buddhism & Modern Psychology? Read this

Princeton University is offering an online course called "Buddhism and Modern Psychology". This 6 week-long course will commence from 20th March, 2014 onwards.

About the Course:

The Dalai Lama has said that Buddhism and science are deeply compatible and has encouraged western scholars to critically examine both the meditative practice and Buddhist ideas about the human mind. A number of scientists and philosophers have taken up this challenge. There have been brain scans of meditators and philosophical examinations of Buddhist doctrines. There have even been discussions of Darwin and the Buddha: Do early Buddhist descriptions of the mind, and of the human condition, make particular sense in light of evolutionary psychology?

This course will examine how Buddhism is faring under this scrutiny. Are neuroscientists starting to understand how meditation "works"? Would such an understanding validate meditation-or might physical explanations of meditation undermine the spiritual significance attributed to it? And how are some of the basic Buddhist claims about the human mind holding up? The course will look into some highly counterintuitive doctrines: that the self doesn't exist, and that much of perceived reality is in some sense illusory. Do these claims, radical as they sound, make a certain kind of sense in light of modern psychology? And what are the implications of all this for how we should live our lives? Can meditation make us not just happier, but better people?

Robert Wright will be the course instructor

The course will have a workload of 2-5 hours of work / week

It will be taught in English and subtitles will be available in English.

For further information and to register, click here

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