Center for Consciousness Studies
Consciousness defines our existence – the world we perceive, inner thoughts and feelings, and our place in the universe. But what consciousness actually is remains unknown. Is consciousness an emergent property of complex computation among brain neurons? Or is consciousness fundamental, an intrinsic feature in the universe to which our brains somehow connect? Is consciousness all-encompassing, with perceived reality a mere illusion? Or is it consciousness that is the illusion?
The nature of consciousness has been pondered since ancient times, but because it cannot be directly measured or observed, its study was more-or-less banned by behaviorist psychologists for most of the 20th century. But in the late 1980s, books by prominent scientists Francis Crick, Gerald Edelman and Roger Penrose brought the study of consciousness into the public eye.
In 1994 the first interdisciplinary, international conference on ‘The Science of Consciousness’ was held at the University of Arizona (‘UA’) College of Medicine, organized by UA Professors Stuart Hameroff (Anesthesiology), Alfred Kaszniak (Psychology), Alwyn Scott (Mathematics) and Jim Laukes (Extended University). In 1997 the Center for Consciousness Studies (‘CCS’) was founded at the UA by the Arizona Board of Regents with a grant from the Fetzer Institute to 3 founding faculty: Hameroff, Kaszniak and Scott. Al Kaszniak served as CCS Director from founding until 1999 when prominent philosopher David Chalmers joined the UA and became CCS Director until 2004. He then returned to his native Australia, and subsequently to NYU. Hameroff became CCS Director in 2004 and hired Abi Behar-Montefiore as conference director.
Our Mission
The CCS Mission is an interdisciplinary approach to 3 areas related to the study and understanding of consciousness: 1. ’The Science of Consciousness’ Conferences, 2. Academic Education at The University of Arizona, and 3. Research into scientific mechanisms underlying conscious experience.
1. The Science of Consciousness Conferences: ‘The Science of Consciousness’ (‘TSC’) conferences have been held annually since 1994, alternating between Tucson (even-numbered years), and elsewhere around the world (Italy, Denmark, Japan, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary, Hong Kong, India, Finland, San Diego, Switzerland, the 2023 conference scheduled for Sicily, Italy, in May). TSC is widely recognized as the world’s largest and best-known interdisciplinary gathering on all aspects of the study of consciousness, spanning neuroscience, cognitive science, philosophy, artificial intelligence/’AI’, quantum physics, the nature of reality, altered states, the origin of life, cosmology and experiential approaches. During the pandemic, TSC conferences were online. The April 2022 Tucson conference was ‘hybrid’, attracting about 500 live/in person, and another 500 remote/online participants. TSC is managed primarily by Stuart Hameroff and Abi Behar-Montefiore, and supported through registration fees and sponsorships. Future plans include smaller, focused conferences both live and online.
2. Academic Education at the University of Arizona: Under direction of UA Regents Professor Tom Bever, with funding from the Eugene Jhong Family Foundation, CCS has for the past two years given an extremely popular undergraduate course, and plans for several more courses for an undergraduate minor, and eventually a graduate program in Consciousness Studies. Cooperative involvement with a number of UA departments and colleges will be important, and other projects could include campus-wide debates on topics directly related to consciousness.
3. Research: CCS research follows the directors and their related projects.
4. Articles:
https://issuu.com/sbstech/docs/uariizona_2020_sbs_developments
Current CCS Leadership
Director, Co-Founder – Stuart Hameroff
Co-Director – Thomas Bever
Associate Director – Jay Sanguinetti
Associate Director – Dante Lauretta
Conference Director – Abi Behar-Montefiore