This course has now passed, but you can be the first to know about the next one - and other workshops like this - by signing up to our newsletter here. His passion for the subject was contagious. Anil Seth is so knowledgeable and eloquent, it’s a pleasure to follow his thoughts and insights. For thousands of years, humans have struggled to understand consciousness. Poets have examined perceptions of reality and the ‘self’ through experimentation in language and form. Artists have long created complex physical representations of the consciousness, while the priests and philosophers of yesteryear have committed years of study to discovering the truth behind what we call ‘reality’. Today, neuroscientists are investigating the ways in which our brains absorb information and perceive the world around us, and they’re increasingly honing in on the mechanisms of consciousness in the brain. In this fascinating masterclass with Anil Seth, one of the world’s leading neuroscientists in the field of consciousness science, you will learn about the philosophical history of consciousness, and why many still believe it to be beyond scientific understanding. After that, you will discover how our perception of reality is a ‘controlled hallucination’ produced by our brains, and what ‘delusion’ really means, as Anil taps into his two decades of groundbreaking research to make the science - and the magic - behind our conscious experiences more accessible. Gain a new appreciation for one of the greatest and most powerful tools available to you: your brain. This course is for … Anyone with an interest in understanding more about being human, and how modern tools of neuroscience are helping us to understand the basis of consciousness Course content Understanding consciousness: What is consciousness? The main challenges in studying consciousness The ‘real problem’ approach to understanding consciousness How conscious are you? Introduce the notion of ‘level’ of consciousness Sleep and anaesthesia Disorders of consciousness Can we measure conscious level? Who are you, anyway? Introduce the notion of ‘conscious self’ The self as a collection of perceptions, not as the ‘thing’ that does the perceiving Interoception and emotion Tutor profile Anil Seth is a neuroscientist, author and public speaker whose mission is to advance the science of consciousness and to utilise its insights for the benefit of society, technology and medicine. He is a professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, co-director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Program on Brain, Mind and Consciousness, a European Research Council advanced investigator, and the editor-in-chief of the journey Neuroscience of Consciousness (Oxford University Press). He holds degrees in Natural Sciences (MA, Cambridge), Knowledge-Based Systems (MSc, Sussex) and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (PhD, Sussex). Anil has published more than 180 papers and is a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher (2019-2021), which places him in the top 1% of researchers in his field worldwide. He is the author of Being You: A New Science of Consciousness, which was a Sunday Times bestseller and a 2021 book of the year for the Economist, the New Statesman and Bloomberg Business, and a science book of the year for the Guardian and the Financial Times. Anil Seth’s book Being You: A New Science of Consciousness is available to purchase in paperback from the Guardian Bookshop. If you are in the UK, you can purchase a book and ticket for the special discounted price of £73.89 including P&P. Details This course has now passed, but you can be the first to know about the next one - and other workshops like this - by signing up to our newsletter here. Date: Tuesday 5 December 2023 Time: 6pm-9pm (GMT) Price: £65 (plus £3.56 booking fee) or £73.89 (plus £3.97 booking fee) with a copy of Being You: A New Science of Consciousness A catch up recording will be shared after the class and will be available for two weeks. This masterclass is available globally. See this time zone converter to check your local live streaming time. 6pm GMT | 7pm CET | 10am PST | 1pm EST You will be sent a link to the webinar 24 hours and 30 minutes before the course start time. Please email masterclasses@theguardian.com if you do not receive the access link 24 hours before the scheduled start time. About Guardian Masterclasses Purchasing tickets to our online classes is a powerful way to fund the Guardian; thank you for your support. Sign up to our newsletter and you’ll be among the first to find out about our latest courses and special offers. You can also follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. 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