By MIKE MAGEE
Stanford neuroscientist David Eagleman He reminded us this week that “a coherent explanation of consciousness eludes modern science.” That was his first line in the New York Times Book Review or Michael Pollan’s latest effort, “A world appears.” In it, Pollan innocently asks, “How does the brain generate a unified sense of self?”
According to Eagleman, “Pollan can’t give the answers (no one can yet), but he presents a captivating, very personal and sensitive exploration.” In this, you are not alone. Other fields are dedicated to the same search.
To begin with, there are the epigeneticists. They study “how our environment influences our genes by changing the chemicals attached to them.” In the hands of these scientists, genes are neither “written in stone nor (completely) predetermined.” Lately, these researchers have been unraveling how various chemicals acting on the surface and inside of cells constantly alter and adjust the functioning of our genes. Hence the title, since “epi” In Greek it means “on, out of, around.”
Other researchers such as Professor Eddy Keming Chen in the Philosophy department at the University of California, San Diego approach the problem from a different direction. He reinforced his PhD in Philosophy with a Master’s degree in Mathematical Physics and a postgraduate certificate in Cognitive Sciences. He teaches the PHIL 130 Metaphysics course.
In it UCSD undergraduate curriculumraises the question: “Why study metaphysics?” She promises registrants that if they sign up, they’ll find a little magic by exploring difficult questions, such as: “Do we have free will? Is it compatible with causal determinism? What is the place of mind and consciousness in a physical world?”
In the Jesuit world I come from, those courses were mandatory as part of the core curriculum. At my own alma mater, they no longer have the same mandate, but they are still alive and well.
Consider, for example, PHL 365, a 3-credit course at LeMoyne College titled Philosophy of mind. Once again, there is magic in the air for inquiring minds.
Here is a description. “The main topic of the course will be the ‘mind-body problem’: can the existence of the mind and mental states be reconciled with a completely materialist or physical view of the world? A second, closely related topic will be: can mental states be implemented on a computer?”
Finally, if none of these fields capture your imagination, you can follow the example of Dr. María Duhamel, member of the board of directors of the French Society of Proteomics and research immunologist at the University of Lille. His 2025 publication in Frontiers in Immunology, titled “Me or not me: the end of a dogma?” is an epic exploration of the historical foundations of immunology and begins this way, “The question of what constitutes ‘be‘ and how living organisms maintain their integrity in the face of external threats has concerned thinkers in diverse fields, including philosophy, biology, and medicine, for centuries.”
Reviewing more than a century of research that began with the birth of immunology as a discipline, Dr. Duhamel and her co-author, Professor Michel Salzet, are forced to recognize that previous assumptions were not entirely incorrect, but represent only part of the truth. In his words, “Conceptually, the whole premise that the immune system‘The mother’s first task is to define what one is so as not to attack it, which is contradicted when we consider microchimerism and pregnancy tolerance, cases in which truly foreign tissues (derived from the father) persist without causing rejection. Likewise, the fact that the human microbiome may be vital for normal functioning challenges the assumption that strangeness inevitably triggers aggression.”
Where is the truth then? According to the authors, “The function of the immune system is to manage complex ecological relationships by distinguishing beneficial or neutral foreign entities from harmful ones. The presence of ‘harmless foreign’ elements is a mainstay in the intestine, skin, and oropharynx. Furthermore, the integration of viruses into the genome, sometimes with evolutionary and developmental benefits, blurs the boundary between self and foreign in a fundamental genomic sense. Endogenous retroviral elements constitute a significant portion of human DNA, but not No robust immune aggression is based against these deeply “embedded viral sequences. “This phenomenon invites researchers to conceive of the ‘self’ as including certain categories of foreign genetic material that have become symbiotic or neutral over evolutionary time.”
Before finishing, the scientists humble themselves by allowing boundaries to blur as they move freely into uncharted philosophical territory. He “magic” is in sight, as they continue: “These concepts are consistent with contemporary philosophy of immunology, which incorporates ecological and developmental insights, such as the observation that commensal microbes, fetal cells in the maternal circulation, or latent viruses are not automatically rejected as “not self,” but rather coexists with the host under specific regulatory conditions.
Regardless of the path you travel, a common destination begins to appear on the horizon. The convergence of disciplines (metaphysics, immunology, epigenetics) is no longer competitive but rather complementary. The remaining question: Are we prepared as a species for this? Can we handle the truth?
Michael Pollan obviously thinks so. Its website asks the reader to travel “to the forefront of the field, where scientists are considering more radical (and less materialistic) theories of consciousness.” a world appears introduces us to “plant neurobiologists” who search for the first glimmer of consciousness in plants; “Scientists strove to introduce feelings into AI, and psychologists and novelists sought to capture the felt experience of our slippery stream of consciousness.”
He epigeneticists They are cautiously optimistic. In his words, “There‘much we do‘Don’t know. But that means there is‘There is much left to discover.” But for him immunologists, With the promise of new treatments for cancer and aging, everything is moving at full speed. His last words “If this means embracing the ‘end of a dogma,’ it also heralds the dawn of a more integrative immunological science.” “
Mike Magee MD is a medical historian and regular contributor to THCB. He is the author of CODE BLUE: Inside America’s medical industrial complex. (Greet/2020)
