Consciousness and the Social Brain

The question of how the brain creates consciousness has been debated for hundreds of years, with some experts deeming the issue a "hard problem" that can never be solved. Neuroscientist and best-selling novelist Graziano (psychology, Princeton Univ.; God, Soul, Mind, Brain; The Divine Farce) proposes a new and intriguing theory of consciousness that explains how the brain creates and makes use of subjective awareness and sets out to resolve perceptual illusions, such as the "out-of-body" experience and the misattribution of consciousness to inanimate objects. Graziano asserts that consciousness is an informational description, or "sketch" of attention, and the attribution of awareness to one's self and to others is essentially the same process, which inextricably links consciousness to social perception. Basing his work on neuroscience research, Graziano identifies two brain areas that may be critical for subjective awareness—the temporo-parietal junction and the superior temporal sulcus. Finally, he impartially discusses implications for free will, the existence of God, and eternal life.