Exploring the boundaries of experience and self

Where are the boundaries of conscious experience and self, and why do these boundaries exist? How do they develop in interaction with parents, carers and others? A September conference at St. Anne’s College, Oxford, focuses on this and related questions

CONSCIOUSNESS AND EXPERIENTIAL SECTION OF THE BRITISH PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY

10th ANNUAL CONFERENCE.

St. Anne’s College, Oxford, 15th to 17th September, 2006.

EXPLORING THE BOUNDARIES OF EXPERIENCE AND SELF

Where are the boundaries of conscious experience and self, and why do these boundaries exist? How do they develop in interaction with parents, carers and others? In what ways are they conditioned by prevailing systems of belief, philosophy, sociocultural history, and environment? How is adult experience and sense of self altered by psychological, social or spiritual development? How does subjective experience relate to intersubjectivity? How do changes in conscious experience affect one’s sense of self, for example through meditation, mysticism, or in pathological states? In this 10th Annual Conference we encourage papers that explore these and related themes from the perspectives of psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, social science, ecology, Eastern and Western spiritual practices, and other, related disciplines.

Keynote speakers include Shaun Gallagher (Univ. of Florida), Brian Goodwin (Schumacher College), Alan B. Wallace (Santa Barbara Institute), and Dan Zahavi (Univ. of Copenhagen).

Submissions can be in the form of paper presentations, posters, round tables, workshops, or other formats.

Presentations will normally be 30 minutes (including questions). Symposia will normally be allocated one and half hours. Other forms of presentation, (e.g dialogues) are welcome. In each case, please send a 150 word abstract, plus a 500 word summary or full paper. Please include affiliation plus contact details with submissions.

SUBMISSION DEADLINES

Paper and symposia abstracts: 5th May 2006. Poster abstracts: 19th May 2006.

Submissions and correspondence regarding them should be sent to: Michael Beaton, Dept. of Informatics, Univ. of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH or E-mail

FURTHER DETAILS

The CEP website has registration and other conference information.

Registration forms and enquiries about these should be sent to: Dr Guy Saunders, Treasurer CEP, FAS – Psychology, UWE, Bristol, Frenchay Campus, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 117 328 2185 Fax: +44 (0) 117 328 2904, or E-mail

OTHER ENQUIRIES

Enquiries other than those to do with submissions, registration or accommodation should be sent to Prof Max Velmans, or E-mail