A neuroscientist explores how subjective experience arises in the brain – and why consciousness is more than mere computation.
Christof Koch is one of the world’s leading voices in the science of consciousness. His latest book invites us to rethink the mystery of subjective experience – between biology, philosophy, and personal reflection.
Christof Koch is a Meritorious Investigator at the Allen Institute for Brain Sciencein Seattle and Chief Scientist der Tiny Blue Dot Foundation. He previously served as President and Chief Scientific Officer at the Allen Institute but stepped down from these executive roles to return to research more fully.
Kochs core question: How do subjective experiences – the redness of an apple, the pain of loss, the joy of music – arise from neural processes? His work focuses on the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC), the minimal set of neural events required for conscious perception.
His research blends experimental neuroscience, mathematical modeling, and philosophy. A central framework is the Integrated Information Theory (IIT), which views consciousness as intrinsic to complex, integrated systems. For Koch, consciousness is not uniquely human – but it cannot be replicated by mere digital computation or simulation.
He also takes near-death experiences, mystical states, and psychedelic insights seriously – not as supernatural evidence, but as data that illuminate altered states of consciousness. Throughout, Koch combines scientific rigor with ethical reflection: If consciousness is widespread, what responsibilities follow?
Book Recommendation
Recommended Book: Then I Am Myself the World: What Consciousness Is and How to Expand It (2024) von Christof Koch
Summary:
This book distills Koch’s decades of research into a compelling narrative of what consciousness is and how it might be measured. He explores when and how consciousness arises in the brain, why it cannot be reduced to computation, and how phenomena such as near-death experiences, mystical states, and psychedelics expand our understanding. He also reflects personally on what consciousness means for human life, ethics, and our sense of identity. Then I Am Myself the World is both a scientific landmark and a deeply human reflection on the mystery of being.
