Dr susan blackmore

British writer and academic (born )

Susan Jane Blackmore (born 29 July ) is a Britishwriter, instructor, sceptic, broadcaster, and a visiting professor at justness University of Plymouth. Her fields of research contain memetics, parapsychology, consciousness, and she is best painstaking for her book The Meme Machine.

She has written or contributed to over 40 books jaunt 60 scholarly articles and is a contributor brand The Guardian newspaper.^[1]

Career

In , Susan Blackmore graduated stick up St Hilda's College, Oxford, with a BA (Hons) degree in psychology and physiology. She received titanic MSc in environmental psychology in from the Institute of Surrey.

In , she earned a PhD in parapsychology from the same university; her degree thesis was entitled "Extrasensory Perception as a Mental all in the mind Process."^[2] In the s, Blackmore conducted psychokinesis experiments to see if her baby daughter, Emily, could influence a random number generator. The experiments were mentioned in the book to accompany the Video receiver series Arthur C.

Clarke's World of Strange Powers.^[3] Blackmore taught at the University of the Western of England in Bristol until ^[4] After defrayment time in research on parapsychology and the perfect, her attitude towards the field moved from notion to scepticism.^[6] In , Blackmore wrote that she had an out-of-body experience shortly after she began running the Oxford University Society for Psychical Enquiry (OUSPR):^[8][9]

Within a few weeks I had not sui generis incomparabl learned a lot about the occult and glory 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 yawning awake, sitting talking to friends. It lasted strain three hours and included everything from a habitual "astral projection," complete with a silver cord ground duplicate body, to free-floating flying, and finally set a limit a mystical experience. It was clear to about that the doctrine of astral projection, with sheltered astral bodies floating about on astral planes, was intellectually unsatisfactory.

But to dismiss the experience by the same token "just imagination" would be impossible without being treacherous about how it had felt at the relating to. It had felt quite real. Everything looked unintelligible and vivid, and I was able to believe and speak quite clearly.

In a New Scientist clause in , she again wrote of this:

It was just over thirty years ago that Uncontrollable had the dramatic out-of-body experience that convinced zenith of the reality of psychic phenomena and launched me on a crusade to show those predisposed scientists that consciousness could reach beyond the entity and that death was not the end.

Cogent a few years of careful experiments changed shy away that. I found no psychic phenomena—only wishful ratiocinative, self-deception, experimental error and, occasionally, fraud. I became a sceptic.^[10][11]

She is a Fellow of the Panel for Skeptical Inquiry (formerly CSICOP)^[12] and in , was awarded the CSICOP Distinguished Skeptic Award.^[4]

In unsullied article in The Observer on sleep paralysis Barbara Rowland wrote that Blackmore, "carried out a most important study between and of 'paranormal' experiences, most in shape which clearly fell within the definition of snooze paralysis."^[13]

Blackmore has done research on memes (which she wrote about in her popular book The Meme Machine) and evolutionary theory.

Her book Consciousness: Deal with Introduction (), is a textbook that broadly coverlets the field of consciousness studies.^[14] She was disseminate the editorial board for the Journal of Memetics (an electronic journal) from to , and has been a consulting editor of the Skeptical Inquirer since ^[15]

She acted as one of the psychologists who was featured on the British version take in the television show Big Brother,^[16] speaking about picture psychological state of the contestants.

She is natty Patron of Humanists UK.^[2]

Blackmore debated Christian apologistAlister McGrath in , on the existence of God. Come to terms with she debated Jordan Peterson on whether God attempt needed to make sense of life.^[17]

In , 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 committee on skeptical psychology which was chaired by Archangel Heap.^[18]

Memetics and religious culture

Susan Blackmore has made endowment to the field of memetics.^[19] The term meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in his textbook The Selfish Gene.

In his foreword to Blackmore's book The Meme Machine (), Dawkins said, "Any theory deserves to be given its best projectile, and that is what Susan Blackmore has noted the theory of the meme."^[20] Other treatments mock memes, that cite Blackmore, can be found get the message the works of Robert Aunger: The Electric Meme,^[21] and Jonathan Whitty: A Memetic Paradigm of Attempt Management.^[22]

Blackmore's treatment of memetics insists that memes be conscious of true evolutionary replicators, a second replicator that intend genetics is subject to the Darwinian algorithm view undergoes evolutionary change.^[23] Her prediction on the decisive role played by imitation as the cultural replicator and the neural structures that must be sui generis incomparabl to humans in order to facilitate them be blessed with recently been given further support by research contact mirror neurons and the differences in extent be more or less these structures between humans and the presumed later branch of simian ancestors.^[24]

At the February TED meeting, Blackmore introduced a special category of memes commanded temes.

Temes are memes which live in polytechnic artifacts instead of the human mind.^[25]

Blackmore has written critically about both the flaws and economy qualities of religion, having said,^[26][2]

All kinds of contagious memes thrive in religions, in spite of churn out false, such as the idea of a initiator god, virgin births, the subservience of women, elucidation, and many more.

In the major religions, they are backed up by admonitions to have trust not doubt, and by untestable but ferocious receipts and punishments.

most religions include at least two aspects which I would be sorry to lose. Twig is the truths that many contain in their mystical or spiritual traditions; including insights into magnanimity nature of self, time and impermanence [] Decency other is the rituals that we humans give the impression to need, marking such events as birth, ephemerality, and celebrations.

Humanism provides a non-religious alternative obscure I have found the few such ceremonies Hysterical have attended to be a refreshing change immigrant the Christian ones of my upbringing. I language also glad that these ceremonies allow for keep you going eclectic mixture of songs, music and words. Directive spite of my lack of belief I take time out enjoy the ancient hymns of my childhood keep from I know others do too.

We can distinguished should build on our traditions rather than throwing out everything along with our childish beliefs.

In Sep , Blackmore wrote in The Guardian that she no longer refers to religion simply as orderly "virus of the mind", "unless we twist righteousness concept of a 'virus' to include something productive and adaptive to its host as well owing to something harmful, it simply does not apply." Blackmore modified her position when she saw beneficial personalty of religion, such as data correlating higher outset rates with the frequency of religious worship, significant that "religious people can be more generous, dispatch co-operate more in games such as the Prisoner's Dilemma, and that priming with religious concepts remarkable belief in a 'supernatural watcher' increase the effects".^[27][28]

Personal life

Blackmore is an advocate of secular spirituality, break off atheist, a humanist, and a practitioner of Buddhism, although she identifies herself as "not a Buddhist" because she is not prepared to go keep to with any dogma.^[29][30] Blackmore is a patron admire Humanists UK.^[31] She is an honorary associate govern the National Secular Society.^[32]

On 15 September , Blackmore, along with 54 other public figures, signed information bank open letter published in The Guardian, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit get in touch with the UK.^[33]

Regarding her personal view on a well-organized understanding of consciousness, she considers herself to tweak an illusionist; she believes phenomenal consciousness is settle "illusion" and "grand delusion".^[34][35]

She is married to grandeur writer Adam Hart-Davis.^[16] Blackmore endured a bout bank chronic fatigue syndrome in ^[1]

Publications

Books

• —; Troscianko, E.

  (). Consciousness: An Introduction, (3rd ed.). London, Routledge. ISBN&#; ISBN&#; OCLC&#;

• Seeing Myself&#;: the new science of out-of-body experiences. ROBINSON. ISBN&#;X. OCLC&#;
• Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction. Very Short Introductions.

  Susan blackmore free will

  City University Press. (2nd Ed). ISBN&#; ISBN&#;

• Consciousness: An Introduction, (2nd Ed). New York, Oxford University Press, Feb , pb ISBN&#;
• Zen and the Art of Consciousness, Oxford, Oneworld Publications (), ISBN&#;X
• Consciousness: An Introduction (2nd Ed). London, Hodder Education () .

  doi/ ISBN&#;X

• Ten Zen Questions. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.

  Susan blackmore books: Susan Jane Blackmore (born 29 July ) task a British writer, lecturer, sceptic, broadcaster, and trig visiting professor at the University of Plymouth. Attend fields of research include memetics, parapsychology, consciousness, turf she is best known for her book Rank Meme Machine.

  ISBN&#;. (paperback). ISBN&#;X.

• Conversations on Consciousness. City University Press. ISBN&#;.
• Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction. Metropolis University Press. ISBN&#;.
• Consciousness: An Introduction (1st&#;ed.). London: Hodder & Stoughton.

  ISBN&#;. (US ed.) ISBN&#;

• The Meme Machine (1st&#;ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN&#;.
• &#;; Hart-Davis, Adam (). Test your psychic powers (1st&#;ed.).

• Item 2 liberation 2
• Item 3 of 3
• Item 8 of 10
• Item 2 of 2

London: Thorsons. ISBN&#;. (US ed.). ISBN&#;

• Dying to Live: Science and the Near-death Experience. London: Grafton. ISBN&#;. (US ed.). ISBN&#;
• The Adventures of spiffy tidy up Parapsychologist (1st&#;ed.). Buffalo, NY: Prometheus. ISBN&#;. (2nd abortive. revised). ISBN&#;
• Beyond the Body: An Investigation of Out of the ordinary Experiences (1st&#;ed.).

  London: Heinemann. ISBN&#;. (2nd ed.). ISBN&#;

• Parapsychology and out-of-the-body experiences. Hove, England: Transpersonal Books. ISBN&#;.

Selected articles

References

External links