Background

The beginning of the 21st century is seeing the topic of consciousness firmly established at the forefront of the scientific arena. Unraveling the mysteries of consciousness is generally considered to be one of the major challenges of modern science. In fact, Science magazine recently ranked the issue of consciousness second on its top 25 of big questions facing science over the next quarter-century.

This area has seen different times such as when debating consciousness was the exclusive domain of philosophers. Today, one of the important challenges is to integrate these philosophical clarifications and conceptualizations with cleverly designed experiments and modern technology. For example, empirical data can serve to challenge and validate theoretical analyses, while conceptual analyses can provide directions and tools for the empirical scientists.

The leading idea behind the EUROCORES Programme “Consciousness in a Natural and Cultural Context” is that consciousness is both a cultural and a biological phenomenon.

Consciousness is inherently private and subjective which emerges from the physical properties and organization of neurons in the brain within a social environment. The Programme offers a valuable framework for researchers from the humanities, social and natural sciences to build joint research projects, in order to foster top-quality consciousness research in Europe.

Following agreement with funding agencies from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, the EUROCORES Programme CNCC has been launched in 2005. Bringing together a research budget over 5 million Euro, the first research projects have started in 2006.

To download the CNCC Call for Outline Proposals click here