Synesthesia: A Window on the Hard Problem of Consciousness
Synesthesia October 14, 2004 Jeffrey Gray
The scientific study of consciousness has recently entered experimental laboratories after centuries of philosophical debate. While this empirical approach is accelerating, its fundamental assumption—that research can resolve questions philosophy could not—remains debatable. Accepting this assumption could profoundly impact understanding of human nature, experience's place in the universe, and religious or spiritual questions about the soul, afterlife, and meditation. The methods of natural science operate independently of individual scientists' beliefs, allowing standard approaches to be applied to these questions.