Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Anil Seth explores the ultimate mystery of our consciousness experience. In this interview, Seth discusses the misconceptions surrounding the difference between consciousness and intelligence, the link between consciousness and self-consciousness and why consciousness can be seen as similar to a controlled hallucination. Seth also considers whether or not he thinks science will ultimately dissolve the sense of mystery surrounding what consciousness really is.
Anil Seth is a Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex and author of Being You: A New Science of Consciousness. He is also Co-Director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science and Editor-in-Chief of Neuroscience of Consciousness. He is also a regular contributor to the New Scientist, The Guardian, and BBC, and writes the blog NeuroBanter.