consciousness : NPR

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You Are Not Just Your Brain

November 13, 2015 • Consciousness science isn't — and can't be — just neuroscience, says philosopher Alva Noë, who applauds the interdisciplinary approach of a new Oxford journal titled Neuroscience of Consciousness.

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Is An Identical Copy Of You, You?

January 28, 2015 • Commentator Marcelo Gleiser ponders this question: Would you be comfortable dying, knowing that another you, a copy, would still be alive?

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In Search Of A Science Of Consciousness

December 30, 2014 • Philosopher Alva Noë explores ideas in a new book that suggests consciousness and self is best looked at by combining insight from Western science, Indian philosophy and contemplative practices.

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Can Psychedelics Expand Our Consciousness?

October 2, 2014 • In his new book, Sam Harris wonders if his daughters will miss something if they don't try mushrooms or LSD as adults. Anthropologist Barbara J. King offers thoughts on this, drugs and enlightenment.

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What Would You Give Up For World Peace?

August 3, 2014 • War and conflict just go with the territory when you're a human. That fact has commentator Adam Frank looking for solutions. Perhaps a shared consciousness is the answer.

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Are Trout Too Smart To Eat? And Other Surprising Questions

June 15, 2014 • Animals are smarter than you think and our place in the world is not as secure as you might imagine. In fact, authors Karen Joy Fowler and Jeff VanderMeer say we're living on an alien planet.

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Probing The Unknowable Mysteries Of The Brain

December 4, 2013 • Is the brain a sort of quantum computer? What is consciousness? Marcelo Gleiser's brain is buzzing with big questions after participating in a conference that asked if quantum physics plays a role in how we think.

If you need empirical information about what is happening in the brain of a dog to know that dogs think, then either you've never met a dog or your own humanity is in doubt. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

If You Have To Ask, You'll Never Know

October 11, 2013 • Do dogs think and feel? Are they persons? And if you are unsure, would the results of brain studies on dogs help you make up your mind? Alva Noë argues that, while an MRI can tell us many things about a dog's brain, it can't tell us more than we already know through our relationships with these wonderful animals.

The 10 Most Important Questions In Science*

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

The 10 Most Important Questions In Science*

September 11, 2013 • We know a lot. But we don't know everything. In fact, science still has quite a few "big" questions left to answer. Physicist Marcelo Gleiser pokes at 10 of them, questions highlighted in a new book naming the most difficult scientific problems of our time.

The Nature Of Consciousness: A Question Without An Answer?

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

The Nature Of Consciousness: A Question Without An Answer?

August 7, 2013 • We don't know how the brain creates consciousness, the subjective you. So, can machines do it, too? Commentator Marcelo Gleiser confronts "the hard problem of consciousness" and finds a world in which what we can know may have its limits.

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Where Did We Go Wrong?

June 14, 2013 • We face a paradox: Although we lack sufficient reason to believe in the consciousness of others, it would be plainly unreasonable for us to give up this commitment.

Mind And Matter: Confessions Of A Perplexed Soul

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Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Mind And Matter: Confessions Of A Perplexed Soul

April 3, 2013 • What can we say about how the brain creates our sense of self? A lot and yet surprisingly little, as it turns out. Commentator Marcelo Gleiser ponders the many challenges scientists face to make sense of our mind.

Is There A Place For The Mind In Physics? Part I

Where does the mind fit within the cosmos? Are they separate, intertwined or one and the same? F. Comeron/ESO hide caption