Beyond the Neural Correlates of Consciousness

A chapter from a scientific and philosophical work examines the search for neural correlates of consciousness (NCC). It argues that science aims not just to find correlations but to explain them. The first half presents a menu of possible explanations for why consciousness correlates with neural activity. The second half suggests that, under reasonable assumptions, the choice among these explanations may be in principle underdetermined by scientific evidence alone.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The centerpiece of the scientific study of consciousness is the search for the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC). Yet science is typically interested not only in discovering correlations, but also—and more deeply—in explaining them. When faced with a correlation between two phenomena in nature, we typically want to know why they correlate. The purpose of this chapter is twofold. The first half attempts to lay out the various possible explanations of the correlation between consciousness and its neural correlate—to provide a sort of ‘menu’ of options from which we probably would ultimately have to choose. The second half raises considerations suggesting that, under certain reasonable assumptions, the choice among these various options may be in principle underdetermined by the relevant scientific evidence.