The Philosophy of Consciousness Science

The Philosophy of Consciousness Science

With Francesco Ellia

Saturday February 10, 2024
9:00am PST | 12:00pm EST | 5:00pm GMT  |  6:00pm CET

2-hour session

The session is live and you will be sent the RECORDING.

In his seminal 1884 observation, Thomas Huxley likened the enigma of consciousness and its relation to nervous tissue to the inexplicable emergence of a djinn from Aladdin’s magic lamp. This metaphor strikingly encapsulates the persistent complexity of what is now known as the mind-body problem. Despite the exponential growth in our scientific understanding, particularly of the brain, we find ourselves scarcely closer to unraveling this mystery than in Huxley’s time. This talk aims to navigate the foundational issues in consciousness science. It critically examines the prevailing functionalist and physicalist perspectives in contemporary science, arguing their insufficiency in addressing the mind-body problem. The discussion underscores that the crux of this problem is not merely a scientific query but is deeply rooted in the fundamental principles of modern science itself. Through this exploration, the talk endeavors to bridge the gap between philosophical inquiry and scientific research, suggesting a new direction in our quest to understand one of the most profound aspects of human existence.

Francesco Ellia is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Bologna and an Honorary Fellow at the Center for Sleep and Consciousness of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received a Ph.D. in Philosophy, Science and Cognition from the University of Bologna in 2021 with a dissertation on Integrated Information Theory and the Mind-Body Problem.