Susan Blackmore - In Search of the Light
December 15th, 2006

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/

Audio:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/pointofinquiry/12-15-06.mp3

Sue Blackmore is a psychologist and writer whose research on
consciousness, memes, and the paranormal has been published in over
sixty academic papers, as well as book chapters, reviews and popular
articles. She regularly writes in The Guardian, and often appears on
radio and television in the United States and the United Kingdom. She
spent two decades early in her career investigating psychic phenomena,
following an out-of-body experience she had as a student at Oxford.
She is the author of a number of books, including Dying to Live (on
near-death experiences), In Search of the Light, and Test Your Psychic
Powers (with Adam Hart-Davis). The Meme Machine (1999) has been widely
acclaimed, and translated into 13 other languages. Her highly praised
textbook, Consciousness: An Introduction, and A Very Short
Introduction to Consciousness are both published by Oxford University
Press, as is her most recent Conversations on Consciousness.

In this far-ranging discussion with D.J. Grothe, Susan Blackmore talks
about her research into the paranormal and near death experiences and
why she left that field of study, memetics and religion as a meme,
free will and the question of moral responsibility, consciousness and
the illusory nature of the self, and Zen Buddhism and meditative
practice, among other topics. She also explores why is it more
important than ever for scientists to speak out about important issues
of concern in the world today.