Exploring Consciousness and How It Happens

Friederike Fabritius welcomes Professor Mark Solms, author of “The Hidden Spring,” for a discussion to answer this, and more. Mark explains the role of the reticular activating system (RAS) in generating human consciousness. It is a structure in the oldest part of our brain, the brainstem, and it plays an important role in consciousness, as well as our emotional state. Solms dives into how the RAS is not just a power source for wakefulness, but a generator of the raw feelings that form the essence of consciousness and how we experience the world.Key distinctions are made between human and animal consciousness, while practical advice on living a fulfilling life by prioritizing emotional well-being over cognitive achievements is also shared. This episode will be sure to leave you thinking about what it really means to be “awake” and the importance of feeling in your everyday life.

00:00 Introduction 

00:43 Mark Solms’ Journey into Neuroscience

02:33 Understanding the Reticular Activating System

08:38 Differences in Consciousness Between Animals and Humans

19:33 Implications for Everyday Life

22:41 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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Professor Mark Solms is Director of Neuropsychology at the Neuroscience Institute of the University of Cape Town. He is also Honorary Lecturer in Neurosurgery at the St Bartholomew’s & Royal London Hospital School of Medicine and an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists. He is a member of the British Psychoanalytical Society and the American and South African Psychoanalytic Associations. He has received numerous honours and awards, including the Sigourney Prize.  He has published 350 scientific papers, and eight books, the latest being The Hidden Spring (Norton, 2021). He is the authorized editor and translator of the Revised Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (24 volumes) and the forthcoming Complete Neuroscientific Works of Sigmund Freud (4 volumes).