How Your Brain Creates Your Reality: A Neuroscientist’s Take On Consciousness, Near Death Experiences & What it Really Means to be You with Professor Anil Seth #366
May 30, 2023
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Join Anil Seth, a renowned neuroscientist and author of 'Being You,' as he unravels the mysteries of consciousness. He discusses how our brains create reality, framing life as a 'controlled hallucination.' From near-death experiences to cultural beliefs about death, Seth challenges our perceptions of self and existence. The podcast also touches on the transformative power of mindfulness and meditation, illustrating how they can reshape our understanding of emotions and perceptions, and inviting listeners to rethink their everyday experiences.
Consciousness is intricately linked to brain activity, ending with its cessation.
Anesthesia demonstrates the brain's role in creating consciousness through functional disintegration.
Near-death experiences offer valuable insights into brain-generated hallucinations and reality interpretation.
Cultural rituals and beliefs influence individual perceptions and coping mechanisms surrounding death.
Biases shape our reality, affecting how we interpret events and highlighting the importance of awareness.
Deep dives
The Perception of Consciousness in Death
Dr. Rangan Chatterjee delves into the perspective of consciousness in death with his guest Professor Anil Seth. Anil Seth, a neuroscientist, challenges the conventional ideas of consciousness and the self as processes. Reflecting on his father's death and the experience of general anesthesia, Anil explains how consciousness is closely tied to brain activity. He emphasizes that consciousness ends with brain activity, shedding light on the concept of death through a scientific lens.
Understanding Anesthesia and Consciousness
Anil Seth shares insights on anesthesia turning individuals into biological objects by shutting off consciousness selectively. He discusses the brain's disintegration into functional islands under anesthesia, leading to a temporary loss of consciousness. Anesthesia's mechanism remains partly mysterious, challenging the idea that we fully understand its workings. Anil highlights the brain's crucial role in creating consciousness and the profound impact of anesthesia on altering this experience.
Exploring Near Death Experiences
Anil Seth examines near-death experiences and how they can offer meaningful insights to individuals undergoing such phenomena. He discusses the complexities of remembering events under anesthesia and distinguishes between real experiences and interpreted truths during near-death episodes. Anil's work emphasizes the brain's role in constructing hallucinations and interpreting reality, leading to a deeper understanding of consciousness and personal experiences.
Effect of Rituals and Cultural Beliefs on Death Perception
Dr. Rangan Chatterjee and Professor Anil Seth delve into how cultural rituals and beliefs influence how individuals perceive and cope with death. Anil shares how rituals surrounding his father's death, rooted in Hindu traditions, provided comfort and structure during a challenging time. The discussion touches on the intersections between scientific exploration of consciousness and spirituality, highlighting the diverse ways individuals navigate the concept of death.
Perceptions of Reality and Controlled Hallucinations
Anil Seth explores the concept of consciousness and the brain's role in constructing perceptions of reality. He compares sensory experiences, like color perception, to controlled hallucinations, emphasizing how our brain's interpretations shape our realities. Through examples like the infamous dress color debate, Anil highlights individual variations in perception and the importance of recognizing diverse perspectives. The discussion leads to reflections on empathy, humility, and the potential for improved communication in acknowledging the subjectivity of human experiences.
Understanding Bias in Perception
Perception can be heavily influenced by biases, as seen in how people's interpretations of events in sports varied based on the team they support. The way we perceive situations, whether it's a foul in a game or a mundane incident at home, can differ dramatically due to our inherent biases. Recognizing these biases is crucial as they shape our reality and may go unnoticed, requiring practices like meditation to develop a sense of awareness.
Benefits of Meditation and Mindfulness
Meditation and mindfulness play a vital role in developing psychological distance and self-awareness. By creating a gap between our thoughts and emotions, meditation helps individuals observe their interpretations and thoughts without getting entangled in them. These practices assist in breaking habitual thinking patterns and promote a deeper understanding of the ever-changing nature of the self and perception.
Neuroscience and Meditation
The parallels between neuroscience and meditation highlight the transformative power of meditation on the brain and self-perception. Meditation encourages individuals to observe their thoughts as passing phenomena, recognizing that thoughts and emotions are constructions of the mind. By training attention and stepping outside habitual thinking patterns, meditation can reveal the grip of these habits and foster a shift in self-experience.
Psychedelics and Self-Perception
Psychedelics offer a unique perspective on self-perception by disrupting normal cognitive patterns and leading to ego dissolution. These experiences can open individuals to new interpretations of the self and the world, challenging fixed perceptions. The context in which psychedelics are used, such as in a controlled setting with therapeutic support, is crucial for harnessing their potential benefits for mental health and self-awareness.
What does consciousness mean to you? It’s something that’s fundamental to who we are as humans. And yet it’s a concept that many of us would struggle to define – scientists and philosophers included. But today’s guest is someone who has spent many years and countless hours studying it, and is keen to share what he has learned.
Anil Seth is Professor of Cognitive and Computational Science at the University of Sussex and Co-director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science. He is a globally respected neuroscientist and author of the Sunday Times bestseller Being You: A New Science Of Consciousness. And he is someone who excels at making complex ideas simple as evidenced by the fact that his TED talk has been viewed over 12 million times to date.
After 20 years researching the brain, Anil’s ideas on perception, reality, and what it means to be you, will have you reconsidering everything you’ve taken for granted about your experience of the world. And if that sounds scary, it really isn’t. You don’t need any prior knowledge of neuroscience, philosophy, or spirituality to enjoy this episode – but it will leave you feeling enlightened in all three areas.
During this conversation we consider death, ritual and the cultural idea of reincarnation. We talk about Near Death Experiences and what we can potentially learn from them and we dive into what consciousness and the self really mean. Anil also sets out his theory that our brains don’t read the world, they write them – all of life is a controlled hallucination.
The way we encounter reality, he asserts, is a construction. Our thoughts and perceptions are merely interpretations of external and biological cues. We’re all hallucinating, all the time. It’s just that when we agree on those hallucinations, we call it reality.
Anil’s work is fascinating and I’m convinced it could pave the way for a humanity that’s more connected, considerate, and humble. This is a conversation that I think will have you reflecting and thinking deeply about the world and your place within it. I hope you enjoy listening.
DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.
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