Conference Announcement - Toward a Science of Consciousness

Meaningful Media – Investigating Inner Experience

Co-Organizers

Gino Yu, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, MERECL

David Chalmers, Australian National University, Canberra, Au

Committee: Lorraine Justice, Jose Rueda

Introduction

Towards a Science of Consciousness 2009:  Investigating Inner  Experiences will take
place in Hong Kong, China from June 11-14, 2009.

The conference will cover the current state of the field of  consciousness research.  We
invite submissions of original papers in  philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, cognitive
science, mysticism,  media, and other related fields for presentation and publication.

The 2009 Conference focuses upon works related to communicating inner  experiences using
modern media technologies.  The reductionist and  repeatable nature of scientific
knowledge makes science very effective  for communicating “outer” experiences that
relate to sensorial  perception.  Although inner experiences such as “compassion,”
“bliss,”  and “the ineffable” lack an objective semantic reference, yet inner  
experiences have been communicated since the dawn of man culturally  through mythology,
art, and ritual that form the basis of all  religious traditions.

Eastern religious practices such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and  Taoism apply physical
activity and contemplative practices to  cultivate inner experiences that can be
referenced by language. Many  traditional practices involve trance and other altered
states of  consciousness that are evoked through a variety of techniques  including music
and sound, exercise, and drugs. These experiences are  also currently being studied by
western science.

In modern society, today’s media has become increasingly powerful tool  for
communicating inner experiences.  Movies and the news have become  today’s mythology.  
The Internet brings together perspectives from  around the world in real-time dialogue.  
Realistic and interactive  visuals and audio enable the creation of new experiences
unbounded by  physical reality.  Biofeedback provides tools that better shape the  
creation of inner experiences.

What one sees, hears, and experiences affects feeling and thought  which, in turn,
influences behavior.  This Conference brings together  researchers, artists, and mystics
working towards developing an  understanding of how this occurs.  The main topics include
first- person experience, perception, emotion, meditation and their  physiological and
physical underpinnings, media and media technology,  shamanism, religious practices,
creative processes, flow states, mind- body connections, symbolism and meaning, digital
media culture,  experience design, and affective computing.  However, the conference  is
not restricted to these themes and presentations covering a wide  variety of related
issues as well as innovative approaches based upon  interdisciplinary research will have
a strong presence.

The Towards a Science of Consciousness 2009 event is held just before  the IEEE
International Conference on Cognitive Informatics, which will  also be held in Hong Kong
and scheduled to run from June 16-19 in Hong  Kong (for information about the 2008 event,
see http://www.enel.ucalgary.ca/ICCI2008/) .

Background

The Towards a Science of Consciousness Conferences started in 1994 in  Tucson and has
since been held there every even year.  Since 1999, the  event has been held at an
international location during the odd  years.  Hong Kong has long been a meeting place
between eastern and  western ideas, and as the media capital of Asia, serves as the ideal
 location for pursuing the subject topic of Meaningful Media.