# Do Brains Create Conscious Experience or Does Consciousness Create Brains by Donald D. Hoffman > “The mystery is us. What kind of creatures are we? Are we composites of physical bodies and nonphysical experiences? Or are we entirely physical, or entirely nonphysical? Do brains create conscious experiences, or vice versa? Could some complex pattern of neural activity in my brain actually cause, or be identical with, my experience of red? How, precisely? Is the distinction between physical and nonphysical even useful here?” > **— Donald D. Hoffman**, *2003, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT ARE THE PRESSING SCIENTIFIC ISSUES FOR THE NATION AND THE WORLD, AND WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE ON HOW I CAN BEGIN TO DEAL WITH THEM? - GWB”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Professor of Cognitive Science University of California, Irvine](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11727) — Edge published this exact, continuous passage in its 2003 Annual Question collection, *WHAT ARE THE PRESSING SCIENTIFIC ISSUES FOR THE NATION AND THE WORLD, AND WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE ON HOW I CAN BEGIN TO DEAL WITH THEM? - GWB*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2003 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2003 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Host Infrastructure Overview]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Philosophy of Mind|Philosophy of Mind]] - [[wiki/Hard Problem of Consciousness|Hard Problem of Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Neuroscience|Neuroscience]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “The mystery is us. What kind of creatures are we? Are we composites of physical bodies and nonphysical experiences? Or are we entirely physical, or entirely nonphysical? Do brains create conscious experiences, or vice versa? Could some complex pattern of neural activity in my brain actually cause, or be identical with, my experience of red? How, precisely? Is the distinction between physical and nonphysical even useful here?” — Donald D. Hoffman, 2003, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT ARE THE PRESSING SCIENTIFIC ISSUES FOR THE NATION AND THE WORLD, AND WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE ON HOW I CAN BEGIN TO DEAL WITH THEM? - GWB” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-donald-hoffman-brains-create-conscious-experience-consciousness-create ```