Oct 09 2023 25 mins
Nicolas Humphrey has been studying the evolution of intelligence and consciousness for over 50 years.
He has been a Lecturer in Psychology at Oxford, Assistant Director of the Subdepartment of Animal Behaviour at Cambridge, Senior Research Fellow in Parapsychology at Cambridge, Professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research, New York, and School Professor at the London School of Economics.
I had the pleasure of discussing with him his book titled: Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness.
Some of the topics we discussed in this episode includes:
- What sparked Nick's interest in exploring the evolutionary history of consciousness ?
- What has Nick seen thats changed his perspective from his research in animal science and behaviour?
- Phenomenal Consciousness
- Do animals have Phenomenal Consciousness?
- What is the criteria for a machine to possess Phenomenal Consciousness and does the rise of Artificial Intelligence, make this a possibility ?
- What are the most pressing areas of research for consciousness in the future?
The Book and Audiobook: Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness is out now.
You can also find out more about Nick on his website https://www.humphrey.org.uk
As of now, my podcast is biweekly and prior to an episode I’ll let you know what book/audiobook I’ll be listening to before the next show so we can delve into it together!
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Listeners: Did I cover a book you read or listened to? Did I discuss the things which also stuck out to you? Or did I miss it out?..... get in touch, and let me know what your experience was or to give me audiobook recommendations: [email protected]