Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Àlex Gómez-Marín discusses how the study of consciousness has evolved across history, and how near-death experiences can help us to understand the connection between the brain and the mind.
Should we treat testimonies of near-death experiences as scientific evidence or discard them as unreliable anecdotes?
With a free trial, you can watch the full talk NOW at iai.tv/video/the-brain-is-not-responsible-for-consciousness?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description
Neuroscientist and theoretical physicist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that the brain may not produce consciousness, but instead filter or permit it. Tracing a provocative history from Galileo to modern consciousness science, he argues that scientific progress came by prioritising what can be measured, leaving inner experience behind. Using his own near-death experience and cases like terminal lucidity, he calls for a more open, rigorous “Science 2.0” that takes anomalous experiences seriously.
#neardeathexperience #consciousness #neuroscience
Àlex Gómez-Marín is a theoretical physicist and neuroscientist. He is Associate Professor at the Institute of Neuroscience, Alicante, and Director of the Pari Center in Italy.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=https://iai.tv/video/the-brain-is-not-responsible-for-consciousness
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0:00 Intro
2:00 Gómez-Marín: what I saw when I nearly died
4:35 What science can tell us about Gómez-Marín's vision
6:09 A history of the scientific study of consciousness
11:48 Materialism versus non-materialism
14:10 How the study of near-death experiences began
Àlex Gómez-Marín discusses how the study of consciousness has evolved across history, and how near-death experiences can help us to understand the connection between the brain and the mind.
Should we treat testimonies of near-death experiences as scientific evidence or discard them as unreliable anecdotes?
With a free trial, you can watch the full talk NOW at iai.tv/video/the-brain-is-not-responsible-for-consciousness?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description
Neuroscientist and theoretical physicist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that the brain may not produce consciousness, but instead filter or permit it. Tracing a provocative history from Galileo to modern consciousness science, he argues that scientific progress came by prioritising what can be measured, leaving inner experience behind. Using his own near-death experience and cases like terminal lucidity, he calls for a more open, rigorous “Science 2.0” that takes anomalous experiences seriously.
#neardeathexperience #consciousness #neuroscience
Àlex Gómez-Marín is a theoretical physicist and neuroscientist. He is Associate Professor at the Institute of Neuroscience, Alicante, and Director of the Pari Center in Italy.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=https://iai.tv/video/the-brain-is-not-responsible-for-consciousness
For debates and talks: iai.tv
For articles: iai.tv/articles
For courses: iai.tv/iai-academy/courses
0:00 Intro
2:00 Gómez-Marín: what I saw when I nearly died
4:35 What science can tell us about Gómez-Marín's vision
6:09 A history of the scientific study of consciousness
11:48 Materialism versus non-materialism
14:10 How the study of near-death experiences began
