Attachment theory, first proposed by John Bowlby, tested in infant-parent relationships by Mary Ainsworth, and now studied in adults by personality/social psychologists, focuses on the ways in which fear motivates people to rely for security on “attachment figures,” beginning in infancy and continuing throughout life. A person’s experiences with sensitive and responsive, or insensitive and …
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Diana Chapman Walsh, ACEL Core Faculty
Sharon Daloz Parks, ACEL Core Faculty
Concurrent Session 4 – Exploring the Intersection of Contemplative Practices and Computer Technologies
This presentation overviews a number of projects that are part of a larger research agenda focusing on the intersection of contemplative practices and technology use. Our overarching research goal is to understand how technology is currently being used by contemplative individuals and communities, which, we believe, is a step toward exploring a more balanced, middle-way …
Master Lecture – Secular Ethics
A Call To Care: The Mind & Life Institute’s New Ethics, Education, and Human Development Initiative (Brooke Dodson-Lavelle) Inspired by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s call to design a curriculum and pedagogy in “secular ethics,” the Mind & Life Institute identified an important opportunity to join the growing movement of educators, scientists, and contemplatives engaged …
ISCS 2014 – Master Lecture – Brooke Dodson-Lavelle, Ven. Tenzin Priyadarshi
A Call To Care: The Mind & Life Institute’s New Ethics, Education, and Human Development Initiative (Brooke Dodson-Lavelle) Secular Ethics and Human Values: A Transformative Approach (Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi)
Concurrent Session 2 – The Social Side of Mindfulness: From Lab to Life
Traditional contemplative perspectives emphasize social benefits of mindfulnessand meditation, yet little research has investigated their social implications. Social situations involve distinct challenges for regulating affect, including the involvement of others’ emotions. This presentation briefly summarizes our prior lab-based work demonstrating that trait mindfulness predicts neural and behavioral responses consistent with efficient top-down attention to and …
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Concurrent Session 1 – Is Compassion Good? The Science and the Conception of Prosocial Behavior
Recent social psychological and neuroscientific studies demonstrate that specific contemplative interventions, especially secular forms of Buddhist-based compassion trainings, enhance prosocial behavior. This panel offers a rare opportunity for scientists and humanists to review together recent discoveries and discuss pressing questions. Advocates often assume that practices such as compassion training and its behavioral effects are universally …
Concurrent Session 1 – The Social Dimension of Suffering – An Enactive Perspective
We assume that humans are social beings that necessarily and existentially strive for connection and recognition from others. When social interactions fail to contribute to this basic desire, they constitute one of the greatest sources of human suffering. Being with others requires a negotiation between needing to ensure one’s own existence while also recognizing others’ …
Master Lecture – Contemplative Inquiry and Science
What Constitutes Compelling Evidence, And For Whom? (B. Alan Wallace) “Exceptional claims require exceptional evidence” is often presented as the heart of the scientific method and as a model for critical thinking, rational thought, and skepticism everywhere. Accordingly, materialists view any evidence that is incompatible with their beliefs as highly questionable at best, for such …
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