‘We don't know what another person is experiencing ... but I think we can have some certainty that it's very different to our own experience and that's something we should probably start acknowledging more when we're thinking about consciousness.’

What exactly do we mean when we refer to human consciousness? For a long time, many scientists steered clear of the study of consciousness, deeming it subjective and impossible to observe. But thanks to innovative interdisciplinary research and advances in neuroimaging tools, scientists have a greater ability than ever to monitor neural activity connected to changing states of consciousness.

In this panel discussion hosted by Hilary Harper live at the Wheeler Centre, leaders in neuroscience Professors Jakob Hohwy and Olivia Carter discussed the current state of neuroscientific understandings of consciousness. They identified the major gaps in our knowledge, the latest medical, psychological and philosophical developments, and the limitations of scientific methods and language in this field.

This event was part of Present Sense, a Wheeler Centre original series inviting experts at the forefront of interdisciplinary research into human consciousness to discuss their work and its implications for Artificial Intelligence, mental health, aged care and philosophy. The next event in this series, Consciousness Unconstrained, will be hosted live at the Wheeler Centre on 22 March.

Presented in partnership with Melbourne-Monash Consciousness Research.