Did consciousness evolve? | Donald Hoffm...

How do we acquire knowledge?We tend to think that knowledge is produced by experts through established institutions, progressing over time towards a single truth. But Steve Fuller challenges this view, arguing that our contemporary "post-truth" order correctly recognises that the ... Show More

How can taking on the role of someone else help us to understand ourselves? Does the hermit know himself better than the socialite? And where is the line between our true, authentic selves and the multitude of characters we all play each and every day? Join actress and Creative D ... Show More

Alex Gómez-Marín is a controversial figure in contemporary neuroscience, known for challenging the materialist framework that dominates scientific accounts of consciousness. He argues that Near Death Experiences (NDEs) raise profound questions about the nature of reality and the ... Show More

<p>It's pretty obvious to each of us that we are conscious, as we go about our days and feel the experience of just ‘being ourselves'. But how do we know that someone else is conscious? </p><p>It’s something we lose during dreamless sleep, under anaesthesia or in a coma. But wha ... Show More

In 2008, after falling into a deep coma, academic neurosurgeon Eben Alexander had a near-death experience that defied his understanding of how the brain works. For him, it was proof of heaven, which became the name of his New York Times–bestselling memoir. Since then, he’s been e ... Show More

Sam Harris speaks with Anil Seth about the scientific study of consciousness, where consciousness emerges in nature, levels of consciousness, perception as a “controlled hallucination,” emotion, the experience of “pure consciousness,” consciousness as “integrated information,” me ... Show More

<p>What do Freudian slips, <em>Josie and the Pussycats</em>, and solving math problems have in common? Psychoanalysis claims to have some answers! Sigmund Freud suggests that unconscious desires, fears, and trauma influence us without us being conscious of them. In pop culture, t ... Show More

<p>What exactly it means to be conscious has long been a question of profound debate amongst philosophers, and more recently, scientists. There are no easy answers, and it gets even trickier when you start asking whether animals are conscious: how can you find out about their sub ... Show More

How do your billions of tiny brain cells build consciousness as they chatter away with electrical spikes and chemical signals? And why is your laptop, with its sophisticated algorithms and billions of parts, presumably not conscious? Could other large systems like a city become c ... Show More