KAELASHA TYLER

I am an early stage researcher and writer interested in the entangled mystery of the brain, body and consciousness. In 2019 I completed my PhD in visual neuroscience and philosophy at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. My doctoral thesis used Heidegger to challenge prevailing assumptions in the science of consciousness. My experimental lab work primarily concerns an investigation into the interrelationship between consciousness and unconscious processes in visual perception. I conducted this research using the magnetoencephalography (MEG) facilities at Swinburne University. More broadly I am interested in extrapolating from this, to an understanding of the place of consciousness in theories of selfhood and subjectivity. These are exciting times for the science of consciousness, because as our understanding of the brain and of consciousness grows, what is really happening is that we are broadening the scope within which we can conceive our own existence.

 

Earlier in my life I spent a number of years as a junior monk, practicing and teaching Tantra Yoga with Ananda Marga in New Zealand, India and Australia. I have come to appreciate  that these contemplative traditions are capable of producing sophisticated empirical insights into the nature of consciousness and the mind. Drawing together these  threads of science and spirituality, I continue to be very interested in the intersecting insights of the contemplative traditions and cognitive neuroscience.

 

Having recently completed my PhD, I intend to continue with research, writing and teaching in consciousness, cognitive science and the psychology of selfhood and subjectivity. Along side my academic curriculum vitae, this website also includes space for some of my other interests such as my paintings, drawings and blogging. I’ll be blogging about the dialogue between contemplative practice and cognitive neuroscience, as well as about science of consciousness and the dialogue between science and religion.