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Conversations on Consciousness: What should we do with our consciousness?
What does it mean to say ‘I am’? Is the sense of subjectivity a delusion? Are only humans conscious? What about whales, AI, and electrons? How should we use our consciousness?
All these questions, and many others, will be examined by expert speakers in conversation with one another and with the audience in this 3-part symposium series.
In this third and final event on 26 Feb, we will examine what we do and what we should do with our consciousness as human beings. Does it help us act rationally, optimally or morally? How is the conscious mind represented in literature? And what role does it play in our mental health?
Iain McGilchrist (Psychiatry, All Souls College, Oxford)
What on earth are we doing here?
Chris Fletcher (English, University of Oxford)
‘I am!’: Literature and consciousness
Catherine Harmer (Psychiatry, University of Oxford)
The mind’s filter: Shaping experience and mental health
Date:
26 February 2026, 17:30
Venue:
Cohen Quadrangle, Walton Street OX1 2HD
Venue Details:
Fitzhugh Auditorium
Speakers:
Iain McGilchrist (Oxford),
Chris Fletcher (Professorial Fellow and Keeper of Special Collections at the Bodleian Library),
Professor Catherine Harmer (Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford)
Organising department:
Exeter College
Organisers:
Professor Charles Foster,
Associate Professor Kerry Walker (DPAG, University of Oxford)
Part of:
Conversations on Consciousness
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
All University members, Alumni, and their guests are welcome to attend
Editor:
Kerry Walker
