University of Pisa Summer - Winter Schools & Foundation Course
Summer School Consciousness and Cognition
Pomaia, Italy
Summer Course
DURATION
8 days
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
10 Jul 2026
EARLIEST START DATE
26 Aug 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 500
STUDY FORMAT
Distance Learning, On-Campus
Key Summary
The enigma of consciousness is perhaps the most fascinating and enduring mystery in the universe. There are many hypotheses on the basis of which we try give an answer to the most difficult problems but, wanting to schematize, all can be traced back to two broad categories: those who consider Consciousness entirely reducible to the electro-chemical-physical processes that take place in the brain, and those who don’t grant for such a solution.
Sharing the first hypothesis means leaning towards the so-called Scientific Materialism, a monist and reductionist approach to the reality, whereas being sceptical towards this possibility and embracing a non-reductionist perspective can decline in very different options, ranging from dualist approaches, postulating the existence of a proto-psychic substance independent from a physical substratum, to non-substantialist views, suggesting an overall reconsideration of the subject-object relation in order to face the problem of consciousness. This latter hypothesis will be investigated from different perspectives, such as quantum physics, biology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, but also and especially from the perspective of contemplative practices. The insights drawn from these fields of enquiry will be thread together within a philosophical framework strongly inspired by phenomenology.
In fact two domains that are apparently very different, such as the one of Quantum Physics and the one of meditation and yoga, on the contrary show, through a phenomenological key of understanding, some surprising convergences. The first constitutes the most advanced approach to the study of the physical world, which also extends to phenomena that take place at the nanoscopic level in biological tissues, while the latter allow for a millenarian profound and accurate exploration of issues that are not accessible with objective methods and that concern the first-person experience. Nonetheless when it comes to consciousness they both seem to point towards a similar direction.
Moreover, answering the question if Scientific Materialism is capable of embracing the totality of Reality, included consciousness, has a lot to do with what is meant by consciousness and what is meant by cognition. Within ongoing cognitive debate the exploration of consciousness is usually merged and sometimes reduced to the study of the processes through which cognition takes place. But is the mere study of the cognitive faculties sufficient to shed light on the mystery of Consciousness which, itself, is a pre-condition for every single cognition to take place?
In order to start tackling these questions, the summer-school is born with a multidisciplinary vocation that brings neurosciences, but also biology, artificial intelligence, and physics in dialogue with epistemological issue at stake in phenomenology and Eastern philosophies and contemplative practice. For this reason the contribution of highly qualified teachers coming from very different backgrounds is required.
A specific space will be reserved for the experiential aspect in order to integrate the lessons with familiarization sessions with contemplative practices (Yoga and Meditation). The sessions will be conducted by highly qualified teachers with specific experience and will also be usable by the students who will attend the school online.
The 2026 edition of the Summer School Consciousness and Cognition is organized by the University of Pisa in collaboration with the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, with the patronage of the Italian Buddhist Union.
The Summer School will be activated with at least 25 students. The maximum number of participants is set to 70 students.
The School will take place in a residential form at Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, 35 Km from Pisa, thanks to a convention between the University of Pisa and the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, renowned for the excellent quality of its study programs of Buddhist philosophy and psychology.
The program will be activated also in distance learning mode (TEAMS platform).
- Philosophy: To acquire a sensitiviness to the existence of a dimension of consciousness that overcomes the distinction between subject and object and to understand its role in the current quest to explain consciousness, through a progression into insights drawn from Western philosophical approaches (especially phenomenology) and Eastern traditions and practices.
- Quantum mechanics: To understand the basic principles of quantum mechanics and comprehend the subtler issues connected with the interpretation of the theory and their possible relevance for a discussion of consciousness, of the mind-body problem, and the nature of reality itself.
- Artificial intelligence: To learn the basic concepts and models of nature-inspired computational techniques and to know how to apply them to a wide range of application areas. Students will be exposed to the advantages and challenges of using computationally intelligent systems with human-like capabilities in terms of reasoning, learning, and adaptation. The ethical and social issues arising from the use of robots that mimic the behavior of conscious and aware entities will also be addressed.
- Biosemiotics: To learn the basics of biosemiotics and become acquainted with the semiotic nature of sign relationships in both biological and human-made systems, understand how cells act as semiotic units capable of interpreting their own environment through sign exchange, and eventually comprehend how sign perception and epigenetic regulation are causally linked through differential gene expression.
- Contemplative practices: To comprehend the vision of Eastern traditions (Hinduism and Buddhism) concerning consciousness and its different levels and manifestations and to learn the foundations, characteristics, and aspects of the different types of meditation.
- Neurosciences and non-ordinary states of consciousness: After a description of the neural networks acting in the brain and a survey on the main techniques for investigation techniques of the brain activity (electroencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging), to understand how not ordinary states of consciousness induced by natural drugs, hypnosis, dream, deep meditation, affect this activity;
- Practice: To become familiar with the experiential aspects of contemplative practices through meditation and yoga sessions led by highly qualified teachers. Like the rest of the program, these sessions will also be available to online students.
The program is aimed at all those who are interested in the phenomenon of Consciousness with particular attention, mainly, but not exclusively, to university students of Philosophy, Psychology, Neuroscience, Bioengineering, Biology, Medicine, Artificial Intelligence, Physics as well as Psychologists, Psychotherapists and Psychiatrists etc.
ECTS: 6