084800/Z/08/Z: States of Mind

Project Summary:What is consciousness? What does it mean to have consciousness? Is it only humans that experience it? And how can the study of the unconscious help us to understand what it is to be human? In 2008, Cheltenham Science Festival brought together leading scientists and thinkers to explore these themes and introduce the general public to brain mapping, neuroscience and psychology - and how these disciplines now inform each other. Using chaired discussions, audience debate and a creative visual art project for schools, the project investigated the latest scientific research in this field, debated the ethical issues involved and explored the implications of these new ideas and discoveries for how we define ourselves as ‘human’.

Grant Holder:Ms Hollie Smith

Organisation:Cheltenham Festivals

Financial Year:2007/2008