The 17th-century French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes famously introduced the notion of mind-body dualism, which holds that the world of the body is fundamentally separate from the world of the mind, or soul, although the two may interact.
In the 19th century, the English biologist Thomas Huxley helped develop the theory of epiphenomenalism, the idea that physical events in the brain give rise to mental phenomena.
On the panel, McGinn also talked about panpsychism, the view that the universe is made of minds.
Schiff went on to describe the remarkable case of a man named Donald Herbert, a firefighter who suffered a traumatic brain injury when the roof of a burning house collapsed on him, depriving him of oxygen for several minutes. The accident left Herbert blind and in a minimally conscious state for nine years. One day, his doctor gave him drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease and other brain disorders, and Herbert woke up. He retained his memory and immediately started speaking to his friends and family." LiveScience
Here is the answer as to where consciousness came from: And the LORD God formed man .......... and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7
Body +
Breath of God (spirit) =
Consciousness (soul)