Explores scientific and philosophical perspectives on consciousness, including quantum theories, the “hard problem,” solipsism, panpsychism, and whether AIs or the universe could be conscious.

Consciousness may have evolved to help living things resolve competing needs when their survival is at stake, rather than simply emerging from greater intelligence. This theoretical account was ...

It is therefore easy to think that consciousness evolved to benefit us as individuals. But we have argued that consciousness may have evolved to facilitate key social adaptive functions. Rather than ...

From sensing to consciousness, at what stage does the difference emerge?'The material notes that life set sail from a state ...

Michael Pollan's widely anticipated new book, A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness, brings his signature acumen and wit to one of science's essential mysteries. Along the way, he pursues ...

As AI—and the ethical debate surrounding it—accelerates, scientists argue that understanding consciousness is now more urgent than ever. They argue that explaining how consciousness arises—which could ...

Why did the experience of consciousness evolve from our underlying brain physiology? Despite being a vibrant area of neuroscience, current research on consciousness is characterised by disagreement ...

We talk with neuroscientist Antonio Damasio about the science of consciousness, how it works in the body, and how it aims to ...

Our understanding of consciousness could be fundamentally wrong This article is part of a special package on “Impossible ...

What gives rise to human consciousness? Are some parts of the brain more important than others? Scientists began tackling these questions in more depth about 35 years ago. Researchers have made ...