The Science of Consciousness (Professor Gerald Edelman & Professor Christof Koch)

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The scientific exploration of consciousness is Prof. Gerald Edelman. Among his many roles, Prof. Edelman is director of the Neurosciences Institute, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurobiology at the Scripps Research Institute. He is the winner of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the structural diversity of antibodies. And, he is the author of several books, including Neural Darwinism, The Remembered Present, and A Universe of Consciousness. His new book, Wider than the Sky: The Phenomenal Gift of Consciousness, explores the science of consciousness research for a general audience.
Consciousness is an aspect of human life that many of us take for granted. The world passes seamlessly before our eyes unified as holistic perceptions. But, much of this conscious experience may be an illusion created by the operations of an imperfect brain. Indeed, it is even unclear why there should be such experiences at all. Scientific inquiry into the nature of consciousness is just beginning and starting to reveal some surprising facts about how the brain gives rise to conscious experience. Well, joining us today to discuss these issues of consciousness is Prof. Christof Koch. Prof. Koch is the Lois and Victor Troendle Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Biology and Executive Officer for the Computation and Neural Systems Program at the California Institute of Technology. He is the author of several hundred scientific papers and journal articles, and he studies the biophysics of computation and the neural basis of visual perception, attention and consciousness. He is the author of the new book, “The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach”, and he joins us to discuss these issues of consciousness.

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