Inside Consciousness

I had a riveting chat with Antonio Damasio about consciousness and its relationship to the mind.

One of my favorite conversations is with Antonio Damasio about consciousness. People often think that the mind and consciousness are the same thing, but Dr. Damasio disputes this notion. He argues that it’s the complex relationship of both our brains and bodies that makes sentient thought possible. Homeostatic feelings like hunger and pain developed before emotions; and along with it came consciousness. In our discussion, we also touch on the topics of perception, mental illness, evolution, panpsychism, AI and machine learning.

Topics

• What is “time-locked multiregional retroactivation”?

• The difference between the mind, intelligence, and consciousness

• Why panpsychism is an escape

• How AIs can replicate minds but not consciousness 

• How feeling gave way to consciousness

• The purpose of emotions

• The evolution of feelings and emotions

• The interoceptive nervous system

• Does mental illness disrupt consciousness?

• Is creativity as a bottom-up process?

• Can consciousness hinder creativity?

• Is panpsychism legit?

• Can we ever make feeling machines?

Dr. Antonio Damasio is an internationally recognized neuroscientist whose extensive research has shaped the understanding of neural systems and consciousness. With over a hundred journal articles and book chapters, he has earned many prestigious awards throughout his career. Currently, he serves as University Professor, the David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Philosophy, and director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California. His books Descartes’ Error, Looking for Spinoza, Self Comes to Mind, The Strange Order of Things, and Feeling & Knowing, have been published in translation and are taught in universities throughout the world.

This episode is part of The Psychology Podcast’s “Best of Series”, where we highlight some of the most exciting, enthralling, and enlightening episodes from our archives.