Allen Institute for Brain Science

The Hard Problem Won’t Go Away: Christof Koch on Why Brain Maps Can’t Explain Redness

Neuroscientist Christof Koch discussed the 'hard problem' of consciousness at a symposium, highlighting the gap between brain activity mapping and the subjective experience of phenomena like seeing red. He explored materialism, idealism, and panpsychism, suggesting that current scientific models may be incomplete in explaining consciousness and advocating for continued study of phenomena like near-death experiences and terminal lucidity.