Into the mind of babes

摘要

What is it like to be a bat? Philosophers of consciousness love toying with that question. We're fascinated by the possibility of minds so unlike our own. But there's a deep mystery far closer to home. Never mind bats - we barely even know what it's like to be a baby. We've all been there, but none of us remember. As we develop into fully self-aware beings, our subjective experience of the world shifts dramatically. Once we leave infanthood behind, that early window on the world - and what it's like to look through it - is closed to us. But research is prising open the shutters. As we learn more about how drugs can alter our consciousness, we're learning more about how our brain states relate to subjective experiences. And that's giving tantalising glimpses into our infancy.