Evan Thompson

Evan Thompson (born 1962 ) is Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. His main research areas are in the philosophy of mind, philosophy of perception, philosophy of biology and cognitive science.

Thompson graduated in 1983 his B. A. in Asian Studies from Amherst College in 1990 and earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy ( Ph.D.) at the University of Toronto. While Thompson wrote in his dissertation, he worked from 1986 to 1989 with the Chilean neurobiologist and philosopher Francisco Varela together at the renowned CREA (Centre de Recherche en epistemology Applique ) in Paris. Between 1989 and 1991, Thompson explored along with Daniel Dennett at Tufts University. This was followed by teaching at several universities, among others in Boston, Paris, Copenhagen, Montreal and York.

In collaboration with Francisco Varela, Eleanor Rosch, Alva Noë and the Dalai Lama Thompson has done pioneering work in the philosophy of mind. Within this work to overcome the rigid and conservative view of cognitive science, the aim is that perception and consciousness merely based on an input-output principle. Instead representing Thompson, taking into account the phenomenology and aspects of Buddhism, a so-called " sensorimotor account" (also known as " enactive cognition" ) of consciousness: perception and consciousness, and qualia are involved in this case to Thompson products that result from cognitive activity, ie they do not just happen, but through interaction with the environment.

Thompson is a member of the Mind and Life Institute was founded in 1990.

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