The Metaphysics of the Brain: a Transcendental Journey through Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Studies Program Spring 2023 Semester - Barcelona

Curiosity combined with our ability of abstraction are the fundamentals of the search for meaning of life, as key features to human nature. Indeed, the so-called existential questions, concerning the essence of what it means to be alive, are present in most cultures around the world. From tribal rituals to religious ceremonies, people have looked for, and sometimes experienced different forms of spiritual awakening, opening the path to more existential questions into philosophical or spiritual journeys.
The world of science is not disconnected from such philosophical dynamics: so often scientific discoveries originated from personal beliefs. In other words, the starting point of research is pretty much a bet on the scientist?s view of nature, which will be later proven true or false. In this course we will treat some philosophical/existential questions starting from the nature of the human brain, integrating mystical traditions and interpreting them from a scientific perspective. The course will assess the metaphysics of the brain on its path to spirituality, particularly focusing on Jewish Kabbalah, an ancient mystical knowledge that can be closely related to mathematical thinking. With the aim of expanding our scope and broadening our thinking from an innovative perspective, the latest achievements in neuroscience, all the way from perception to consciousness will be combined with mystical concepts, namely the 10-dimensional Kabbalistic scheme called the Tree of Life. This novel and challenging approach is meant to help us get a better insight into how our human nature conditions us on our path to spirituality.