Theories of Consciousness 1/6: The Philosophy of Consciousness Science (with Francesco Ellia)

February 10, 2024. 2 hours. 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. Ellia navigates the foundational issues in consciousness science, critically examining the prevailing functionalist and physicalist perspectives in contemporary science and arguing their insufficiency in addressing…