Nicholas Humphrey

Scientific Advisor

Nicholas is emeritus professor of psychology at the London School of Economics and Bye Fellow at Darwin College Cambridge. His work has focused on the evolutionary basis of consciousness and social intelligence.

He was the first scientist to demonstrate the existence of “blindsight” after brain damage in monkeys, and he originated the theory of the “social brain”, arguing that the chief driver of brain evolution in human ancestors has been the need to acquire a “theory of mind”, centred around phenomenal consciousness. His work is interdisciplinary, bridging psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology. His recent book “Sentience” offers a solution to the problem of how phenomenal consciousness arises in a material brain.