The Science of Consciousness

July 26, 2010

Recently at lunch, we were talking about the science of consciousness and the different understandings that we each had of what consciousness is. On the one hand, it can be argued that consciousness is simply a state of being. Descartes famously said, "I think therefore I am"...conscious? Around The Monroe Institute, we talk about consciousness as the "new" frontier and use it interchangeably in conversations about everything from our deeper understanding of ourselves to the phenomenon of a sense of global consciousness. What do you think? Is consciousness merely a blip on the map of a brain, is it the sensation of touching a hot stove, the awareness that you feel as you tell someone that you love them, or something different entirely? TIME posted an article exploring the science of consciousness, and we thought that you might like to take a look at this thoughtful discussion consciousness in the popular scientific community. How do you define consciousness? Let us know in the comments below!