The Magic of Consciousness
Is consciousness real? Could it be just an illusion manufactured in the theatre of our minds? And what use is it – why did it evolve in the first place? Professor Nicholas Humphrey explores...
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Consciousness matters to us. Arguably it matters more than anything. Take away the magic of sensations, the magic we create, and we'd be smaller creatures living in the duller world. Yet consciousness is still a scientific mystery. Does it mean there are dimensions to the universe that science doesn't understand? Or could it all be an illusion? We revel in sensations. Colours, sounds, tastes can seem unspeakably wonderful, but what's really going on? Inside my head my brain is tracking the stimuli that reach my body's surface. This activity is my brain is a purely physical process but my experience of it seems anything but purely physical. And that's the problem. Let's take the case of pain. Suppose I were to prick my thu...
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Consciousness matters to us. Arguably it matters more than anything. Take away the magic of sensations, the magic we create, and we'd be smaller creatures living in the duller world. Yet consciousness is still a scientific mystery. Does it mean there are dimensions to the universe that science doesn't understand? Or could it all be an illusion? We revel in sensations. Colours, sounds, tastes can seem unspeakably wonderful, but what's really going on? Inside my head my brain is tracking the stimuli that reach my body's surface. This activity is my brain is a purely physical process but my experience of it seems anything but purely physical. And that's the problem. Let's take the case of pain. Suppose I were to prick my thu...
