Consciousness: The what, why and how

from newscientist.com

(Image: Nate Kitch) 

THERE are a lot of hard problems in the world, but only one of them gets to call itself "the hard problem". And that is the problem of consciousness – how a kilogram or so of nerve cells conjures up the seamless kaleidoscope of sensations, thoughts, memories and emotions that occupy every waking moment. 

The intractability of this problem prompted British psychologist Stuart Sutherland’s notorious 1989 observation: "Consciousness is a fascinating but elusive phenomenon… Nothing worth reading has been written on it." 

The hard problem remains unsolved. Yet neuroscientists have still made incredible progress understanding consciousness, from the reasons it exists to the problems we have when it doesn’t work properly. 

Is consciousness still fascinating? Yes. Elusive? Absolutely. But Sutherland’s final point no longer stands. Read on…

NEUROLOGY

Watching your mind in action

We no longer have to wonder what self-awareness looks like, says neuroscientistDaniel Bor – now we can see for ourselves
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METACOGNITION

Why it's good that I know that I know

The capacity for self-reflection is what give humans "superconsciousness" and seems to be what sets us apart from other animals
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UNCONSCIOUS PROCESSES

Our silent partner, the unconscious

One aspect of our cognitive prowess rarely gets the credit it deserves. Behold thepower of the unconscious mind!
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EVOLUTION

Why aren't we all zombies?

What survival advantage would a conscious human have over a zombie? In other words, why did consciousness evolve, asks Clare Wilson
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Why we need to build sentient machines 

Only by building an artificial consciousness will we truly be able to understand the mysteries of our own brains, saysCeleste Biever
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ODDITIES

What we can learn from altered states

Strange brain states like anarchic hand syndrome and waking dreams can reveal a lot about how we construct reality, sayClare Wilson and Liz Else
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READ MORE ABOUT CONSCIOUSNESS

Emerging consciousness glimpsed in babies

Electrical brain signals that reflect an awareness of surroundings have been recorded for the first time in the infants
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Reality: How does consciousness fit in?

Some theories hold that reality and consciousness are one and the same. Is the universe really all inside your head, asks Michael Brooks
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We're closing in on consciousness in the brain

Brain "observatories" may solve the puzzle of how material brains create an intangible world of love, colour, taste and fantasy, says Christof Koch
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Consciousness is a matter of constraint

Terrence W. Deacon's new theory of consciousness depends as much on what isn't there as on what is – and could even help us understand our early origins
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Banishing consciousness: the mystery of anaesthesia

To understand consciousness, we need to work out how anaesthesia robs us of it. Linda Geddes investigates
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Firing on all neurons: Where consciousness comes from

Get enough of the right brain cells to talk about the same thing, and out pops a conscious thought
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