2024 has been an unforgettable year at the IAI, packed with bold ideas and groundbreaking debates. From unravelling the mysteries of consciousness and quantum mechanics to investigating the relationship between language and reality, feminist ethics, the nature of evil, and the West’s uncertain future, we’ve tackled the biggest questions in philosophy, science and global politics. Across our festivals, in the pages of IAI News, and in our Academy courses, we’ve challenged convention and offered fresh perspectives on a rapidly changing world. The twelve articles, debates, talks and courses below stand out for their urgency and relevance because they move the debate on, charting a path through an increasingly complex and dangerous future.

(1) Mind, matter and everything: Can consciousness be solved by science?

A debate between Sean Carroll, Ellen Langer and Tamar Gendler, hosted by Jack Symes.

In a 2020 survey of philosophers, more than half thought that materialism describes the human mind. But we don’t yet have a physical explanation of a single state of consciousness, never mind the entire mind, and there are deep problems for the materialist approach. Even Richard Dawkins said that scientists “are no more equipped to deal with consciousness than anyone else.” This debate between Sean Carroll, Ellen Langer and Tamar Gendler – leaders in their respective fields of physics, psychology and philosophy – was a fascinating journey into this issue. Do we need to accept that material stuff is a radically different sort of thing than thought and consciousness? Or can materialism pull the rabbit from the hat and be extended to account for thought and experience?

(2) “Biology Beyond Genes: Rethinking Evolution,” a talk by Denis Noble.