Episode

Will science ever explain the self?

Podcast
God Forbid
Published
Aug 28, 2026
Duration seconds
3278
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/godforbid/science-and-self/107015354
Audio
https://mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/nv/Z/1s.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/god-forbid-567088/episodes/will-science-ever-explain-the-self
Markdown
/podcast/god-forbid-567088/will-science-ever-explain-the-self.md

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Summary

Neuroscience is now spectacularly good at explaining how brains work. But there’s one thing it still can’t explain: why having a brain feels like something. Like anything at all! Philosophers call this the Hard Problem of consciousness. Is this gap in our knowledge something that science can never fully understand? Something intangible, even unknowable? Some say it's a life force, an essence, a soul. What, if anything, can religion offer this intangible? GUESTS: Rev Antonios Caldas Coptic Orthodox priest and lecturer at St Cyril’s Coptic Orthodox Theological College Prof Neil Levy philosopher at Macquarie University and Oxford University