The Royal Institute of Philosophy Annual Debate: The Science and Philosophy of Consciousness

null, Maja Spener (University of Birmingham)

How can flesh and blood brains give rise to pains and pleasures, dreams and desires, sights and sounds? Some believe this ‘hard problem’ of consciousness can never be solved. Can we expect any breakthroughs as the science of the mind progresses? The Royal Institute of Philosophy’s Annual Debate considers whether the problem of consciousness really is intractable. Our illustrious panel is neuroscientist Anil Seth, philosophers Louise Anthony, Maja Spener and Philip Goff, with the BBC’s Ritual Shah chairing.

This event is part of the Being Human festival, the UK’s national festival of the humanities, taking place 10–19 November 2022. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, with generous support from Research England, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. For further information please see beinghumanfestival.org.