This article is taken from the monthly Sciences et Avenir ndeg929/930, date July/August 2024.
What is consciousness? Where does it come from and how does it work? These basic questions have fueled nearly three thousand years of Western philosophy. And have perhaps been troubling humanity for even longer. But it was not until the end of the 20th century that we were able to look more closely at what actually happens in the brain when perceived information becomes conscious.