Thomas Metzinger is Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. He is the author of The Ego Tunnel and Being No One (MIT Press), the coeditor of Open MIND, and the editor of Neural Correlates of Consciousness (both MIT Press). His research focus lies in analytical philosophy of mind and cognitive science, as well as in connections between ethics, philosophy of mind and anthropology. He is the recipient of several awards and Fellowships, including a Fellowship by the Gutenberg Research College and a Research Professorship from the German Ministry of Science, Education and Culture. He was the Director of the Neuroethics Research Unit in Mainz and Director of the MIND Group at the FIAS. He is past president of the German Cognitive Science Society and of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness. He was a key member of the EU’s High-level Expert Group on artificial intelligence. A life-long meditator himself, Metzinger contributes widely to the scientific and philosophical understanding of contemplative practices. He is the founder and director of the MPE-project, a network of more serious researchers investigating the experience of pure awareness in meditation.