Susan Blackmore
Susan Blackmore | |
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broadcaster | |
Spouses | |
Children | 2 |
Website | www |
Notes | |
Susan Jane Blackmore (born 29 July 1951) is a
Career
In 1973, Susan Blackmore graduated from
Within a few weeks I had not only learned a lot about the occult and the paranormal, but I had an experience that was to have a lasting effect on me—an out-of-body experience (OBE). It happened while I was wide awake, sitting talking to friends. It lasted about three hours and included everything from a typical "astral projection," complete with a silver cord and duplicate body, to free-floating flying, and finally to a mystical experience. It was clear to me that the doctrine of astral projection, with its astral bodies floating about on astral planes, was intellectually unsatisfactory. But to dismiss the experience as "just imagination" would be impossible without being dishonest about how it had felt at the time. It had felt quite real. Everything looked clear and vivid, and I was able to think and speak quite clearly.
In a New Scientist article in 2000, she again wrote of this:
It was just over thirty years ago that I had the dramatic out-of-body experience that convinced me of the reality of psychic phenomena and launched me on a crusade to show those closed-minded scientists that consciousness could reach beyond the body and that death was not the end. Just a few years of careful experiments changed all that. I found no psychic phenomena—only wishful thinking, self-deception, experimental error and, occasionally, fraud. I became a sceptic.[10][11]
She is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (formerly CSICOP)[12] and in 1991, was awarded the CSICOP Distinguished Skeptic Award.[4]
In an article in The Observer on sleep paralysis Barbara Rowland wrote that Blackmore, "carried out a large study between 1996 and 1999 of 'paranormal' experiences, most of which clearly fell within the definition of sleep paralysis."[13]
Blackmore has done research on
She acted as one of the psychologists who was featured on the British version of the television show Big Brother,[16] speaking about the psychological state of the contestants. She is a Patron of Humanists UK.[2]
Blackmore debated
In 2017, Blackmore appeared at the 17th European Skeptics Congress (ESC) in Old Town Wrocław, Poland. This congress was organised by the Klub Sceptyków Polskich (Polish Skeptics Club) and Český klub skeptiků Sisyfos (Czech Skeptic's Club). At the congress she joined Scott Lilienfeld, Zbyněk Vybíral and Tomasz Witkowski on a panel on skeptical psychology which was chaired by Michael Heap.[18]
Memetics and religious culture
External videos | |
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What are memes?, Web of Stories |
Susan Blackmore has made contributions to the field of memetics.[19] The term meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. In his foreword to Blackmore's book The Meme Machine (1999), Dawkins said, "Any theory deserves to be given its best shot, and that is what Susan Blackmore has given the theory of the meme."[20] Other treatments of memes, that cite Blackmore, can be found in the works of Robert Aunger: The Electric Meme,[21] and Jonathan Whitty: A Memetic Paradigm of Project Management.[22]
Blackmore's treatment of memetics insists that memes are true evolutionary replicators, a second replicator that like
At the February 2008
Blackmore has written critically about both the flaws and redeeming qualities of religion, having said,
...most religions include at least two aspects which I would be sorry to lose. First is the truths that many contain in their mystical or spiritual traditions; including insights into the nature of self, time and impermanence [...] The other is the rituals that we humans seem to need, marking such events as birth, death, and celebrations. Humanism provides a non-religious alternative and I have found the few such ceremonies I have attended to be a refreshing change from the Christian ones of my upbringing. I am also glad that these ceremonies allow for an eclectic mixture of songs, music and words. In spite of my lack of belief I still enjoy the ancient hymns of my childhood and I know others do too. We can and should build on our traditions rather than throwing out everything along with our childish beliefs.
In September 2010, Blackmore wrote in The Guardian that she no longer refers to religion simply as a "virus of the mind", "unless we twist the concept of a 'virus' to include something helpful and adaptive to its host as well as something harmful, it simply does not apply." Blackmore modified her position when she saw beneficial effects of religion, such as data correlating higher birth rates with the frequency of religious worship, and that "religious people can be more generous, and co-operate more in games such as the
Personal life
Blackmore is an advocate of
On 15 September 2010, Blackmore, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK.[33]
Regarding her personal view on a scientific understanding of
She is married to the writer
Publications
Books
- —; Troscianko, E. (2018). Consciousness: An Introduction, (3rd ed.). London, Routledge. 2018. ISBN 9781317625865. OCLC1008770304.
- Seeing Myself : the new science of out-of-body experiences. 2018. ROBINSON. ISBN 147213737X. OCLC1015243143.
- Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction. Very Short Introductions. Oxford University Press. 2017 (2nd Ed). ISBN 0198794738
- Consciousness: An Introduction, (2nd Ed). New York, Oxford University Press, Feb 2011, pb ISBN 0199739099
- Zen and the Art of Consciousness, Oxford, Oneworld Publications (2011), ISBN 185168798X
- Consciousness: An Introduction (2nd Ed). London, Hodder Education (2010) . ISBN 144410487X
- ISBN 185168798X.
- Conversations on Consciousness. Oxford University Press. 2005. ISBN 9780191604867.
- Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. 2005. ISBN 9780191578052.
- Consciousness: An Introduction (1st ed.). London: Hodder & Stoughton. 2003. ISBN 9780195153439.
- ISBN 978-0198503651.
- —; Hart-Davis, Adam (1995). Test your psychic powers (1st ed.). London: Thorsons. ISBN 0806996692.
- Dying to Live: Science and the Near-death Experience. London: Grafton. 1993. ISBN 0879758708.
- The Adventures of a Parapsychologist (1st ed.). Buffalo, NY: ISBN 9781573920612.
- ISBN 978089733-3443.
- Parapsychology and out-of-the-body experiences. Hove, England: Transpersonal Books. 1978. ISBN 9780906326015.
Selected articles
- "A psychological theory of the out-of-body experience". Journal of Parapsychology. 48 (3): 201–18. September 1984.
- —; Trościanko, T. (November 1985). "Belief in the paranormal: Probability judgements, illusory control, and the 'chance baseline shift'". .
- — (1987). "Where am I? Perspectives in imagery and the out-of-body experience". Journal of Mental Imagery. 11 (2): 53–66.
- —; Brelstaff, G.; Nelson, K.; Trościanko, T. (1995). "Is the richness of our visual world an illusion? Transsaccadic memory for complex scenes". S2CID 28031132.
- — (February 1996). "Near-death experiences". PMID 8683504.
- — (November 1997). "Probability misjudgment and belief in the paranormal: A newspaper survey". British Journal of Psychology. 88 (4): 683–9. .
- — (1998). "Imitation and the definition of a meme". Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission. 2 (2): 159–70.
- Bull, L.; Holland, O.; — (2000). "On Meme–Gene Coevolution". S2CID 7638207.
- — (2001). "Evolution and Memes: The human brain as a selective imitation device". S2CID 9112642.
- — (2002). "There Is No Stream of Consciousness. What is all this? What is all this stuff around me; This stream of experiences that I seem to be having all the time?". Journal of Consciousness Studies. 9 (5–6): 17–28.
References
- ^ ISBN 9780470117729.
- ^ British Humanist Associationwebsite. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-399-13066-3.
- ^ a b "A Who's Who of Media Skeptics: Skeptics or Dogmatists?". Skeptical Investigations website. Association for Skeptical Investigations. Archived from the original on 17 April 2008.
- ^ Blackmore 1986, p. 163.
- ^ Berger, R.E. (April 1989). "A Critical Examination of the Blackmore Psi Experiments". The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. 83: 123–144.
- ^ Blackmore 1986, p. 249.
- ^ Blackmore, S. (1987). "The Elusive Open Mind". Skeptical Inquirer. 11 (3): 125–135.
- ISBN 9781118045633.
- ^ Blackmore, S. (2000). "First person—into the unknown". New Scientist. 4: 55.
- S2CID 21749711.
- ^ "CSI Fellows and Staff". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry website. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
- ^ Rowlands, B. (17 November 2001). "In the dead of the night". The Observer. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ Saunders, G. (December 2003). "Is Consciousness Insoluble?". Scientific and Medical Review. The Scientific and Medical Network. Archived from the original (book review of Consciousness: An Introduction) on 1 May 2008.
- ^ "Curriculum Vitae". Susan Blackmore official website. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
- ^ IMDb
- ^ "Unbelievable? Jordan Peterson vs Susan Blackmore: Do we need God to make sense of life?". premierchristianradio.com. Premier Christian Radio. 9 June 2018. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ Gerbic, Susan (9 February 2018). "Skeptical Adventures in Europe, Part 2". www.csicop.org. Committee for skeptical inquiry. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
- ISBN 9780192632449.
- ^ Dawkins, Richard. Foreword. In Blackmore (1999), p. xvi.
- ISBN 9780743201506.
- . Retrieved 19 July 2013.
- ^ "Susan Blackmore: Memetic Evolution". Evolution: "The Minds Big Bang" (video). 2001. PBS. WGBH.
- ISBN 9780262582506.
- Wired website.
- ISBN 9780971644588.
- ISBN 9783525569573.
- ^ Blackmore, S. (16 September 2010). "Why I no longer believe religion is a virus of the mind". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ^ Blackmore, S.; Jacobsen, S.D. (22 April 2014). "Dr. Susan Blackmore, Visiting Professor, University of Plymouth". In-Sight (4.A): 91–105.
- ^ Paulson, S. (interviewer) (31 October 2012). "Susan Blackmore on Zen Consciousness". To the Best of Our Knowledge. NPR. Wisconsin Public Radio. Archived from the original on 28 November 2013. Transcript for Susan Blackmore uncut.
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has generic name (help) - ^ "Dr. Susan Blackmore". Humanists UK. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ^ "National Secular Society Honorary Associates". National Secular Society. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
- ^ "Letters: Harsh judgments on the pope and religion". The Guardian. London. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-19-879473-8.
My own view is this. Consciousness is an illusion: an enticing and compelling illusion [...] This, I suggest, is how the grand delusion of consciousness comes about.
- ^ Blackmore, Susan (2016). "Delusions of consciousness". Journal of Consciousness Studies. 23 (11–12): 52–64.
Frankish's illusionism aims to replace the hard problem with the illusion problem; to explain why phenomenal consciousness seems to exist and why the illusion is so powerful. My aim, though broadly illusionist, is to explain why many other false assumptions, or delusions, are so powerful.
External links
- Official website
- Susan (Sue) Blackmore's blog at The Guardian
- Susan Blackmore at TED
- TED Talk: Susan Blackmore: Memes and "temes" (TED2008)
- Debate on the motion "belief in God is a dangerous delusion" between Blackmore and Alister McGrath (author of 'The Dawkins Delusion') at Bristol University on 13 November 2007.
- Web of Stories (2:12), Susan Blackmore, first of 23 parts.