Cosmological theory has made tremendous progress but still butts up against certain mysteries, such as what preceded the big-bang to which it can only answer with wild speculations, including the flat denial that ths question has any meaning at all. Similarly neurological-cognitive theories have made tremendous progress but still butt up against the nature and origin of consciousness, a mystery which has invited a range of wild speculations, including the flat denial that there is any mystery at all. It is hard not to wonder whether there is something behind this strange parallelism. It may have something to do with the limits of our way of formulating questions and seeking answers, in other words with the scientific approach to truth. Science has prided itself on its audacity at overturning mythologies and metaphysical taboos, but is it able to turn its gaze on its own mythologies and taboos?