The Hard Problem of Consciousness with Stuart Hameroff

Stuart Hameroff, MD, is a professor of anesthesiology and psychology at the Banner University Medical Center of the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is also co-founder and director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona. He is author of Ultimate Computing: Biomolecular Consciousness and Nanotechnology. Since 1994, he has organized the “Toward a Science of Consciousness” conferences at the University of Arizona and elsewhere. Working with Sir Roger Penrose, he is the co-author of the “Orch OR” theory of consciousness.

Here he points out that the “hard problem” refers to the very existence of subjective experience in a material world. This is a problem addressed by panpsychists and dualists — as well as materialists who believe that consciousness is an emergent property related to complexity. Hameroff believes that all of these proposed solutions are inadequate and explains why he prefers the theory posed by Roger Penrose in his book, The Emperor’s New Mind. He developed the ORCH OR theory with Penrose in order to link Penrose’s mathematical and physical approach with an understanding of the brain and nervous system.

New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He has served as vice-president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, and is the recipient of its Pathfinder Award for outstanding contributions to the field of human consciousness. He is also past-president of the non-profit Intuition Network, an organization dedicated to creating a world in which all people are encouraged to cultivate and apply their inner, intuitive abilities.

(Recorded on July 8, 2017)

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