James Cooke

James Cooke DPhil is based in the Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, where he researches consciousness and contemplative science, with an emphasis on understanding the connection between the experience of suffering and the sense of self.

James holds three degrees from Oxford University (a DPhil (PhD) and Masters in Neuroscience & a BA in Experimental Psychology). He has conducted scientific research for over a decade at institutions such as Oxford University, University of California, Berkeley, University College London, Trinity College Dublin, and Riken Brain Sciences Institute in Tokyo.

James is the originator of the philosophical paradigm of Nondual Naturalism, articulated in his book The Dawn of Mind: How Matter Became Conscious and Alive (Rowman & Littlefield), which synthesises science and contemplative insight to reframe the Hard Problem of Consciousness. He is also the originator of the Living Mirror theory of consciousness which, in combination with the framework of Nondual Naturalism, envisions consciousness as epistemic relationality, within a broader relational metaphysics, thereby overcoming the false dichotomy between mind and matter.

https://www.contemplativesciencelab.com/