Where Does Consciousness Come From?
To respond to this question, the search turns next to the origin of consciousness. In our own animalian body, must not our consciousness and that of the lesser animals be rooted in the common power of subatomic activity, of indeterminacy in action? The origin of both begins to show in the story of Stuart Hameroff, a research anesthetist. Hameroff has explored how consciousness is lost in anesthesia and then reemerges as the patient comes out. He discovered that immobilizing part of the neurons of the brain seemed to restrict electrochemical activity so that the patient lost consciousness, while the brain remained undamaged. He also suspected that a process, a “something,” was occurring that went deeper than this activity and was also immobilized as the patient lost consciousness. Realizing that the deeper process had to reflect a depth of subatomic activity beyond his competence, he discussed the puzzle with physicist Roger Penrose. Their discussion showed that the tiny “microtubule” o
