Bilde
Public lecture
What can brain science teach us about consciousness that we don't know already?
Åpent
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Drammensveien 78
Forum for Consciousness Research and The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters host this lecture by Victor A.F. Lamme. The lecture is open to all.
Programme
19.30: Welcome and introduction by Johan F. Storm, Neurophysiology, University of Oslo
19.35: Victor Lamme: What can brain science teach us about consciousness that we don't know already?
20.35: Coffee break
20.45: Discussion and questions from the audience
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Abstract
Once a topic largely confined to philosophy, consciousness has evolved to a mainstream research topic in psychology, neuroscience, AI, and other fields. This has generated a huge number of data, as well as many ideas and theories on consciousness. Where has this taken us? It is getting increasingly clear that consciousness is not what we always thought it was. Inspired by empirical data we are now moving away from the idea that the gold standard of consciousness is what people know, think or report about it. Instead, consciousness seems a much more fundamental property of brain function, more closely tied to binding and integration than to higher order cognitive functioning. I will present an overview of all the arguments that support such a conclusion, touching on topics such as the (mildly) hard problem, where the ‘magic’ of consciousness happens (and why this is not all that magical after all), why missing gorillas does not imply not seeing them (and why that gorilla is conscious of you), and first and foremost why neuroscience is a better judge of what you’re conscious of than you are yourself.
About Victor Lamme
Victor Lamme is a full professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Amsterdam. He has worked on visual perception, attention, and memory, only to converge on the topic he is truly obsessed with: consciousness. He studies consciousness using a variety of techniques, ranging from single unit electrophysiology in monkeys to EEG, fMRI, TMS, and pharmacological interventions in humans. His aim is to provide a new definition of consciousness, moving away from our introspective intuition of it.
