Part 1 "What are the key challenges facing a science of consciousness?".

             The study of consciousness has been plagued by the perception that traditional scientific methods are not capable of explaining or exploring the meaning of human consciousness adequately. This is essentially due to the division between science and religion that occurred in the development of Western thought. As a result of this fact, the science of consciousness is faced with problems on a number of levels. .

             The first and possibly most obvious level with regard to the full scientific understanding of consciousness is the emphasis on scientific objectify and the reduction of the importance of subjective experience. This is particularly a problem with regard to the definition of consciousness. The second issue is related to the various definition and understanding of what constitutes human consciousness. An example of the problematic of a scientific understanding of copiousness can be seen in the scientific rejection of the understanding of consciousness as something that is beyond the brain or mental state. Science, in its search for objectify, defines consciousness in terms of measurable and largely physical aspects; whereas other less conventional views understand consciousness in broader and more inclusive terms.

             Dualistic thought is also another aspect that is part of the scientific method. This view tends to divide consciousness into matter and non-matter and creates a further range of problems that obscure the integral understanding of consciousness. Many scientists oppose the view that defines consciousness ".in such a way that it no longer has its normal meaning of mental consciousness, but instead is supposed to refer to something non-mental." (Lloyd P. B. 1999) .

             Scientists even go to the extent of stating that consciousness which cannot be observed or measured objectively simply does not exist. "Strictly speaking, at present there is no scientific evidence even for the existence of consciousness! All the direct evidence we have consists of nonscientific, first-person accounts of being conscious.