Science is shattering our intuitions about consciousness | Annaka Harris

Become a Big Think member to unlock expert classes, premium print issues, exclusive events and more"Is it possible that consciousness is a much more basic phenomenon in nature and is essentially pervading everything?"

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Consciousness is everything we know, everything we experience. The mystery at the heart of consciousness lies in why our universe – despite teeming with non-conscious matter – is configured in a way where it's having a felt experience from the inside.

Modern neuroscience suggests that our intuitions about consciousness are incorrect. And so, it's possible that we've been thinking about consciousness the wrong way entirely, says bestselling author Annaka Harris.

If this is true, then consciousness may not be something that arises out of complex processing in brains, says Harris. Consciousness could be a much more basic phenomenon in nature, an all-pervading force, like gravity. If we think of it in these terms, we can imagine that all types of processing in nature could include some type of felt experience.

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About Annaka Harris:

Annaka Harris is the New York Times bestselling author of CONSCIOUS: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind and writer and producer of the forthcoming audio documentary series, LIGHTS ON. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Nautilus Magazine, the Journal of Consciousness Studies, and IAI Magazine. She is also an editor and consultant for science writers, specializing in neuroscience and physics. Annaka is the author of the children’s book I Wonder, coauthor of the Mindful Games Activity Cards, and a volunteer mindfulness teacher for the organization Inner Kids.