Sunday 20 – 16.30 : 18.00
Mind and Nature: Toward a Non-Anthropocentric Relationship
The relationship between humans and nature has historically been centered on the idea of human intellectual supremacy. This anthropocentric view has led to significant environmental imbalances. In this workshop, Stancher invites participants to explore a more balanced perspective, one informed by recent findings in neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and comparative animal psychology.
By examining the cognitive and emotional capabilities of other species, the talk encourages participants to adopt a non-anthropocentric perspective rooted in respect and reciprocity. Science shows that many species possess complex communication systems and cooperative behaviors once believed to be exclusive to humans. This shift in understanding not only informs environmental conservation efforts but also enhances personal well-being by fostering a deeper connection with the natural world.
Gionata Stancher is a researcher and science communicator with a background in evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and cognitive sciences. Stancher has published extensively in international scientific journals and serves as the curator of zoology at the Fondazione Museo Civico di Rovereto.
Psychedelic therapy as a transformative tool of reality: beyond culture, mind and brain.
Considering experience as embodied, and therefore embedded, through a process of “immersive reflection”, psychedelic therapy transforms not only the self, but patients’ sense of reality.
The production and discovery of new meanings, allows to explore the impact that such practices have, not only on the mind and brain, but also on how people perceive and experience the world.
Absent the defensive, self-critical lens of a prior self-concept, psychedelic-assisted therapy serves as an ideal paradigm for the transformative experience of seeing oneself through the eyes of another, leading to greater self-acceptance.
This complex integrated process does not just affect the psyche but goes beyond culture, thought and individual consciousness, offering a new perspective on human experience.
Mauro D’Alonzo is a psychiatrist, psychedelic integration therapist (California Institute of Integral Studies), founder of EUTOPIA (Integrated PsyCare Services), president and co-founder of SIMEPSI (Italian Society of Psychedelic Medicine), engaged in the study and application of the therapeutic use of psychedelic substances.
