Jan W Vasbinder – författare

Our age is characterized by global access to information, places and cultures: we can gain more and more knowledge about "the others": other people and their cultures by "indirect knowledge" — learning about them via the global information net assisted by electronic and other high-tech communication channels, as well as by "direct knowledge": personally visiting various parts of the world and meeting local people in their own natural and social environments.East and West, two major worlds of aspirations, cultures, world-views, theoretical and practical approaches to life and death, have come closer by personal experiences of both Westerners and Easterners. But do we really understand the similarities and differences between the cultural-cognitive-behavioural-emotional patterns of the East and the West, with special regard to their neurobiological underpinnings in the human brain?The contents of this book focus on cultural patterns and cognitive patterns in the East and West, with special regard to those patterns which are determined by our natural-genetic endownments in contrast to those patterns which are influenced by our cultural ("East–West") influences, and within this context a unique flavour is given to the "good life" aspects of adapting to this global community.Published in collaboration with .

The contents of this book continues the theme as in the previous volume on cultural patterns and cognitive patterns in the East and West, with special regard to those patterns which are determined by our natural-genetic endownments in contrast to those patterns which are influenced by our cultural ("East-West") influences, and within this context a unique flavour is given to the "good life" aspects of adapting to this global community.The chapters written by leading neuroscientists, give an overarching picture from the elementary organisational principles of the human brain through the basic perceptual and motor functions of the brain to the highest levels of cognition, including aesthetical or moral judgments, with an eye on what can be called "good life" in both Eastern and Western cultures. A unique compilation of state-of-the-art overviews of how the human brain is organised and functions in order to achieve high level of social, moral or aesthetic thoughts across cultures.Published in collaboration with .

This interesting book is a compilation of the lectures and discussions held during a four-day event — Grand Challenges for Science in the 21st Century — organized by Para Limes at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.The elite group of speakers included Nobel laureate Sydney Brenner who called on all scientists to adopt a truth-seeking approach and not be afraid of challenging assumptions. The other panellists were Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and past President of the Royal Society, the much-cited Terrence Sejnowski from the renowned Salk Institute for Biological Studies, the well-known keynote speaker in economics and complexity sciences Brian Arthur, the former President of the European Research Council Helga Nowotny and the Director of the Parmenides Center for the Conceptual Foundations of Science Eors Szathmary.The lively sessions were moderated by the Danish writer Tor Norretranders. The panel tackled topics from evolution and the origin of the universe to modern technologies and artificial intelligence. The challenges presented during the event are bound to get the reader thinking about what may lie ahead in our future.Published in collaboration with .

This interesting book is a compilation of the lectures and discussions held during a four-day event — Grand Challenges for Science in the 21st Century — organized by Para Limes at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.The elite group of speakers included Nobel laureate Sydney Brenner who called on all scientists to adopt a truth-seeking approach and not be afraid of challenging assumptions. The other panellists were Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and past President of the Royal Society, the much-cited Terrence Sejnowski from the renowned Salk Institute for Biological Studies, the well-known keynote speaker in economics and complexity sciences Brian Arthur, the former President of the European Research Council Helga Nowotny and the Director of the Parmenides Center for the Conceptual Foundations of Science Eors Szathmary.The lively sessions were moderated by the Danish writer Tor Norretranders. The panel tackled topics from evolution and the origin of the universe to modern technologies and artificial intelligence. The challenges presented during the event are bound to get the reader thinking about what may lie ahead in our future.Published in collaboration with .