Consciousness, Biology and Fundamental Physics

Why are we conscious? Why do we experience the taste of almonds or the colour red? What is the experience of choosing between beer and wine, and how do we do it? Why do we think that only organisms with brains can do this, although our brains are based on the same sort of physics as everything else in the universe? The conventional consciousness studies of the last twenty years, wedded to a nineteenth century view of physics and biology, has failed to produce anything of explanatory value. Roger Penrose's hypothesis that consciousness is linked to a fundamental level of the universe is here considered more promising, but may not have responded sufficiently to recent advances in quantum biology and neuroscience. 'Consciousness, Biology and Fundamental Physics' attempts an updating of the original inspiration.