84. Christof Koch — The Feeling of Life Itself: Why Consciousness is Widespread but Can’t Be Computed

In this fascinating discussion of one of the hardest problems in all of science — the hard problem of consciousness, that is, explaining how the feeling or experience of something can arise from neural activity — one of the world’s leading neuroscientists Christof Koch argues that consciousness, more widespread than previously assumed, is the feeling of being alive, not a type of computation or a clever hack. Consciousness is experience. Consciousness is, as his book title states, The Feeling of Life Itself — the feeling of being alive. Shermer and Koch discuss: • the Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCC) • where consciousness is located in the brain (or, more precisely, where it is not located) • what comas and vegetative states teach us about consciousness • what brain injuries and diseases teach us about consciousness • what hallucinogens teach us about consciousness • what split-brain surgeries teach us about the nature of the self and identity • Koch’s experience with psilocybin and what he learned about consciousness • Koch’s experience in a flotation tank and what he learned about consciousness • why computers as they are currently configured can never create consciousness • why mind-uploading cannot copy or continue consciousness • Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness • Global Workspace Theory of Consciousness • why consciousness is not an illusion, and • mysterian mysteries. Christof Koch is President and Chief Scientist of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, following twenty-seven years as a Professor at the California Institute of Technology. He is the author of Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist (MIT Press), The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach, and other books. Listen to Science Salon via iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and Soundcloud. You play a vital part in our commitment to promote science and reason. If you enjoy the Science Salon Podcast, please show your support by making a donation, or by becoming a patron.