Anil Kumar Seth (born 11 June 1972) is a British neuroscientist and professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex. A proponent of materialist explanations of consciousness,[1] he is currently amongst the most cited scholars on the topics of neuroscience and cognitive science globally.[2]

Anil Kumar Seth
Born (1972-06-11) 11 June 1972 (age 52)
Oxford, England
EducationKing's College, Cambridge (BA)
University of Sussex (MSc, PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsNeuroscience
InstitutionsUniversity of Sussex
ThesisOn the Relations between Behaviour, Mechanism, and Environment: Explorations in Artificial Evolution (2000)
Doctoral advisorsHilary Buxton
Phil Husbands
Websitewww.anilseth.com

Seth holds an BA (promoted to an MA per tradition) in natural science from King's College, Cambridge, and a PhD in computer science from the University of Sussex. Seth has published over 100 scientific papers and book chapters, and is the editor-in-chief of the journal Neuroscience of Consciousness.[3] He is a regular contributor to New Scientist, The Guardian[4] and the BBC,[5] and writes the blog NeuroBanter.[6]

He is related to the Indian novelist and poet Vikram Seth.

Early life and education

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Seth was born in Oxford[7] and grew up in Letcombe Regis,[8] a village in rural South Oxfordshire. His father, Bhola Seth, obtained a BSc from Allahabad University in 1945, before migrating from India to the United Kingdom to study engineering at Cardiff. Bhola Seth subsequently obtained a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Sheffield, was a research scientist at the Esso Research Centre in Abingdon, and won the veterans' world doubles title in badminton in 1976. His mother, Ann Delaney, came from Yorkshire.[9]

Seth went to school at King Alfred's Academy in Wantage. He has degrees in Natural Sciences (BA/MA, King's College, Cambridge, 1994), Knowledge-Based Systems (M.Sc., Sussex, 1996) and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (D.Phil./Ph.D., Sussex, 2001). He was a postdoctoral and associate fellow at The Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, California (2001–2006).[citation needed]

Career

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Since 2010 Seth is co-director (with Prof. Hugo Critchley) of the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science,[10] and editor-in-chief of Neuroscience of Consciousness.[3] He was conference chair of the 16th meeting of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness and continuing member 'at large'[11] and is on the steering group and advisory board of the Human Mind Project.[12] He was president of the Psychology Section of the British Science Association in 2017.[13][14]

Publications

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Seth has published over 100 scientific papers and book chapters, and is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Neuroscience of Consciousness.[3] He is a regular contributor to New Scientist, The Guardian[4] and the BBC,[5] and writes the blog NeuroBanter.[6] He also consulted for the popular science book, Eye Benders, which won the 2014 Royal Society Young People's Book Prize.[15] An introductory essay on consciousness has been published on Aeon"The Real Problem" – a 2016 Editor's Pick. Seth was included in the 2019 Highly Cited Researchers List that was published by Clarivate Analytics.[16]

Books

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  • Being You: A New Science of Consciousness (Faber and Faber, 2021)[17] – author
  • Brain Twisters (Ivy Press, 2015)[18] – consultant
  • 30 Second Brain (Ivy Press, 2014)[19] – editor and co-author
  • Eye Benders (Ivy Press, 2013)[20] – consultant
  • Modelling Natural Action Selection (Cambridge University Press, 2011)[21] – editor and co-author

Popularisation of science

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Seth appeared in the 2018 Netflix documentary The Most Unknown[22] on scientific research directed by Ian Cheney.

See also

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  • User illusion, an understanding of consciousness similar to Seth's

References

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  1. ^ "Being You by Anil Seth – the construction of consciousness". www.ft.com. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  2. ^ Lane, Vicky Trendall. "Five University of Sussex academics among top 1% of most cited researchers in the world". The University of Sussex. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Editorial Board". academic.oup.com. Neuroscience of Consciousness. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Anil Seth". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Anil Seth on consciousness, The Life Scientific". BBC.co.uk. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  6. ^ a b "About". NeuroBanter. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Anil Seth, D.Phil". University of Sussex. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  8. ^ Burnett, Thomas (20 June 2014). "Probing the Mystery of Consciousness". John Templeton Foundation. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  9. ^ Anil Seth, "Bhola Seth Obituary", The Guardian, 3 July 2013. Accessed 21 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Anil Seth at the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science". sussex.ac.uk. University of Sussex. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Association of Scientific Studies of Consciousness". theassc.org. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Advisory Board". Human Mind Project. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Psychology Section". British Science Association. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  14. ^ "Who we are". sites.google.com. BSA Psychology. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  15. ^ GrrlScientist (17 November 2014). "Royal Society Young People's Book Prize winner announced". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  16. ^ Vowles, Neil. "University celebrates record year for professors in global highly cited researchers list". University of Sussex. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  17. ^ "Being You – Anil Seth". Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  18. ^ Clive., Gifford (2015). Brain Twisters : the science of feeling and thinking. Seth, Anil. Lewes: Ivy. ISBN 9781782402046. OCLC 899705249.
  19. ^ 30-second brain : the 50 most mind-blowing ideas in neuroscience, each explained in half a minute. Seth, Anil, Bekinschtein, Tristan. New York: Metro Books. 2014. ISBN 9781435147843. OCLC 875565756.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  20. ^ Clive., Gifford (2013). Eye benders. Seth, Anil, born 1976. Lewes: Ivy. ISBN 9781782400844. OCLC 861317419.
  21. ^ Seth., Anil (2011). Modelling natural action selection. Prescott, Tony J., Bryson, Joanna J. , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107000490. OCLC 934350929.
  22. ^ "The Most Unknown (2018)". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
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