Evan Thompson (born 1962) is a professor of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. He writes about cognitive science,

phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...

philosophy of mind Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the ontology and nature of the mind and its relationship with the body. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a number of other issues are addre ...

, and cross-cultural philosophy, especially Buddhist philosophy in dialogue with Western philosophy of mind and cognitive science.

Life

As a child, Thompson was

home-schooled Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

at the Lindisfarne Association, a think tank and retreat founded by his father,

William Irwin Thompson William Irwin Thompson (16 July 1938—8 November 2020) was an American social philosopher, cultural critic, and poet. He received the Oslo International Poetry Festival Award in 1986. He described his writing and speaking style as "mind-jazz ...

. In 1977, Thompson met Chilean phenomenologist Francisco Varela when Varela attended a Lindisfarne conference which was organized by Thompson Senior and

Gregory Bateson Gregory Bateson (9 May 1904 – 4 July 1980) was an English anthropologist, social scientist, linguist, visual anthropologist, semiotician, and cyberneticist whose work intersected that of many other fields. His writings include '' Steps to an ...

. Thompson received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1990 and an A.B. in Asian Studies from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1983.

Career

Thompson has taught at the University of Toronto,

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, and

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

. While at York University, Thompson was also a member of the Centre for Vision Research. Thompson has held visiting appointments at the Center for Subjectivity Research in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, and at the

University of Colorado, Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

. Thompson worked with Francisco Varela at CREA ( Centre de Recherche en Epistemologie Appliquée) at the Ecole Polytechnique in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. During this time, Varela and Thompson, along with Eleanor Rosch, wrote ''The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience,'' which introduced the approach to cognitive science known as enactivism. Thompson's book, ''Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind'', argues for a deep continuity between life and mind. In 2020, Thompson published ''

Why I Am Not A Buddhist Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in v ...

,'' which argues against what he calls Buddhist exceptionalism, "the belief that Buddhism is superior to other religions...or that Buddhism isn't really a religion but rather is a kind of 'mind science,' therapy, philosophy, or a way of life based on meditation."

Works

* Francisco Varela, Evan Thompson, and Eleanor Rosch, ''The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience''. MIT Press, 1991. *''Colour Vision: A Study in Cognitive Science and the Philosophy of Perception'' Routledge Press, 1995 *''Between Ourselves: Second Person Issues in the Study of Consciousness''. Imprint Academic, 2001. Published also as a special triple issue of the '' Journal of Consciousness Studies'' *Alva Noe and Evan Thompson, eds., ''Vision and Mind: Selected Readings in the Philosophy of Perception''. MIT Press, 2002. *''The Problem of Consciousness: New Essays in Phenomenological Philosophy of Mind''. ''Canadian Journal of Philosophy'', Supplementary Volume 29: 2003. University of Alberta Press *Giovanna Colombetti and Evan Thompson, eds., ''Emotion Experience''. Imprint Academic, 2005. Published also as a special triple issue of the ''Journal of Consciousness Studies''
''The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness''
Edited by

Philip David Zelazo Philip David Zelazo (born 1966) is a developmental psychologist and neuroscientist. His research has helped shape the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience regarding the development of executive function (i.e., conscious self-control of t ...

Morris Moscovitch Morris Moscovitch is Max and Gianna Glassman Chair in Neuropsychology and Aging and Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto. He is also a Senior Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute of Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care in Tor ...

, Evan Thompson, May 2007

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

: Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology series, *
Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind
'.

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, 2010,
''Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy''

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

, 2014, *''

Why I am Not a Buddhist Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in v ...

''.

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

, 2020

Notes

External links

Thompson's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Evan 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American philosophers 1962 births American male non-fiction writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Living people Philosophers of mind University of British Columbia faculty American Indologists Amherst College alumni Tibetan Buddhism writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers

Life

Career

Works

See also

Notes

External links