Consciousness and the Self

The first chapter is dedicated to the problem of consciousness and its relationship to the self. The aim of the chapter is to illustrate the shift from the problem of phenomenal consciousness to the self in contemporary consciousness studies. The chapter will also show how the problems of the non-conscious and the unconscious infiltrated the study of consciousness. The section defines the difference between consciousness and self-consciousness and shows that the problem of the self has come to the foreground of consciousness studies. In addition, the analyses of the minimal self established a fruitful dialogue between phenomenology and philosophy of mind. This chapter also discusses the no-self approaches. These approaches deny the importance of the self and regard it as an illusion generated by the brain or mental capacities.