By MIKE MAGEE
Stanford neuroscientist, David Eagleman, reminded us this week that “A coherent explanation of consciousness eludes modern science.” That was his opening line in the New York Times book review of Michael Pollan’s latest effort, “A World Appears.” In it, Pollan asks innocently, “How does the brain generate a unified sense of self?”
According to Eagleman, “Pollan is not able to furnish the answers (no one can, yet), but he presents a captivating exploration, one that is highly personal and sensitive.” In this, he is not alone. Other fields are engaged in the same pursuit.
To begin with, there are the epigeneticists. They study “how our environment influences our genes by changing the chemicals attached to them.” In the hands of these scientists, genes are not “set in stone and (fully) predetermined.” Of late, these investigators have been unraveling how various chemicals, working on the surface and inside cells are constantly altering and adjusting how our genes work. Thus the title, since “epi” is Greek for “over, outside of, around.”
Other investigators like Professor Eddy Keming Chen in the department of Philosophy at University of California San Diego come at the problem from a different direction. She bolstered her PhD in Philosophy with a Masters in Mathematical Physics, and a graduate certificate in Cognitive Science. She teaches the PHIL 130 course on Metaphysics.
In the UCSD college syllabus, she tees up the question, “Why study metaphysics?” She promises enrollees that if they sign up, they’ll find a bit of magic in exploring tough questions, like: “Do we have free will? Is it compatible with causal determinism? What is the place of the mind and of the consciousness in a physical world?”
In the Jesuit world that I came from, such courses were mandatory as part of the core curriculum. In my own alma mater, they no longer carry the same mandate, but still remain alive and well.
Consider, for example PHL 365 – a 3 credit course at LeMoyne College titled Philosophy of Mind. Once again, there is magic in the air for inquiring minds.
Here is a description. “The main focus of the course will be the ‘mind-body problem’: can the existence of minds and mental states be reconciled with a thoroughly materialistic or physical view of the world? A second, closely connected focus will be: can mental states be implemented on a computer?”
Finally, if neither of these fields captures your imagination, you could follow the lead of Dr. Marie Duhamel, a member of the Board of Directors of the French Society of Proteomics, and research immunologist at the University of Lille. Her 2025 publication in Frontiers in Immunology, titled “Self or non self: end of a dogma?” is an epic exploration of the historical foundations of immunology, and begins this way, “The question of what constitutes the ‘self’ and how living organisms maintain their integrity against external threats has preoccupied thinkers from diverse fields, including philosophy, biology and medicine, for centuries.”
Reviewing more than a century of research that began with the birth of Immunology as a discipline, Dr. Duhamel and her co-author Professor Michel Salzet, are forced to acknowledge that prior assumptions were not entirely incorrect but represent only a portion of the truth. In their words, “Conceptually, the entire premise that the immune system’s first job is to define what is self so as not to attack it is contradicted when we consider microchimerism and pregnancy tolerance, cases in which truly foreign (paternally derived) tissues persist without triggering rejection. Similarly, the fact that the human microbiome can be vital to normal function challenges the assumption that foreignness inevitably triggers aggression.”
Where then does the truth lie? According to the authors, “The role of the immune system is to manage complex ecological relationships by distinguishing beneficial or neutral foreign entities from harmful ones. The presence of ‘harmless foreign’ elements is a mainstay in the gut, skin, and oropharynx. Moreover, the integration of viruses into the genome, sometimes with evolutionary and developmental benefits, blurs the boundary between self and foreign in a fundamental, genomic sense. Endogenous retroviral elements constitute a significant portion of human DNA, yet no robust immune aggression is mounted against these deeply embedded viral sequences. This phenomenon invites researchers to conceive of ‘self’ as including certain categories of foreign genetic material that have become symbiotic or neutral over evolutionary time.”
Before they finish, the scientists humble themselves by allowing boundaries to blur as they move freely into philosophic uncharted territory. The “magic “ is in full view, as they continue: “These concepts are consistent with the contemporary philosophy of immunology, which incorporates ecological and developmental insights, such as the observation that commensal microbes, fetal cells in the maternal circulation, or latent viruses are not automatically rejected as “non-self,” but instead coexist with the host under specific regulatory conditions.
Regardless of which road you travel, a common destination is beginning to appear on the horizon. The convergence of disciplines – Metaphysics, Immunology, Epigenetics – is no longer competitive but rather complimentary. The remaining question: Are we as a species ready for this? Can we handle the truth?
Michael Pollan obviously thinks we are. His website asks the reader to travel “the cutting edge of the field, where scientists are entertaining more radical (and less materialist) theories of consciousness. A World Appears introduces us to “plant neurobiologists” searching for the first flicker of consciousness in plants; scientists striving to engineer feelings into AI, and psychologists and novelists seeking to capture the felt experience of our slippery stream of consciousness.”
The epigeneticists are cautiously optimistic. In their words, “There’s a lot we don’t know. But that means there’s much left to discover.” But for the immunologists, with the promise of new treatments for cancer and aging, it’s full speed ahead. Their final words, “If this means embracing the ‘end of a dogma,’ it also heralds the dawn of a more integrative immunological science.’ “
Mike Magee MD is a Medical Historian and regular contributor to THCB. He is the author of CODE BLUE: Inside America’s Medical Industrial Complex. (Grove/2020)
