The decision to invite the Dalai Lama-Tenzin Gyatso to deliver the inaugural lecture in a new series at the Society For Neuroscience’s Annual Meeting this November has stirred controversy in the press and led to a petition of protest from scientists. Entitled “Dialogues between Neuroscience and Society,” the SFN describes the new series as featuring ”. . . leaders from fields outside of neuroscience whose work relates to subjects of interest to neuroscientists.” Rumor has it that the SFN has invited the architect Frank Gehry to deliver next year’s lecture.
The story was first reported in July by David Cyranoski in a Nature article entitled, “Neuroscientists See Red Over Dalai Lama.” Cyranoski subsequently wrote a follow-up piece entitled, “Dalai Lama Gets Go-Ahead,” that was accompanied by a correspondence from a reader in August.
More recently Benedict Carey picked up the story and reported it in The New York Times in his article “Scientists Bridle at Lecture Plan for Dalai Lama.” Buddhist scholar B. Alan Wallace chimed in with an Op-ed that you can read here. See also this NYT “Letter to the Editor” from a neuroscience nurse.
See also:
༄ The Guardian,”. . .Dalai Lama Lecture Angers Neuroscientists.”
