A distinguishing feature of the conference was the adoption of a critical yet open-minded approach to the investigation and elucidation of the interaction between cognitive and biological processes, in particular the interplay between consciousness and physiological factors. The consensus of opinion amongst attendees was that the achievement of any significant progress in the understanding of the phenomena of matter, life, and consciousness would require a fresh, wholistic approach?i.e., a modus operandi which transcends the mechanistic fundamentalism underpinning orthodox science and biomedicine. It was acknowledged that the creation of this new paradigm entails an interdisciplinary collaboration that not only unites analytic and synthetic methodologies, but also successfully integrates the physical, biological, medical, psychological, and computational sciences. The presenters of this conference (and many of the attendees) may in many respects be aptly described as constituting the vanguard of the new ?in vivo? movement in biology: this is in stark contrast to the simplistic ?in vitro? approach that has dominated and curtailed the biosciences for more than a century.
