Consciousness, Perception, Hallucinations, Selfhood, Neuroscience, Psychedelics & "Being You" | Anil Seth | #44

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Nick talks with Dr. Anil Seth, a neuroscientist and professor of cognitive & computational neuroscience at the University of Sussex. The conversation is all about the neuroscience of consciousness, which is the subject of his Dr. Seth's book, “Being You: A New Science of Consciousness.“

They touch on everything from what consciousness actually is, whether or not neuroscientists can measure different levels of consciousness in the brain, what characterizes psychedelic experiences and non-ordinary states of consciousness in terms of the brain, and the nature of perception. In particular, they discuss ideas related to the notion that our conscious perceptions are a kind of inference, or guess, our brain’s are making about the world, as well as the idea that all of our conscious perceptions are "controlled hallucinations."

They also discuss: exteroception (perceiving things outside the body, like objects); interoception (perceiving things within the body); and emotion. Lastly, Nick gets Anil’s take on whether consciousness is an evolutionary adaptation and psychedelics.

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