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The Myth of Nonconceptual Self-Consciousness

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  • Roberto Horacio de Sa Pereira

Abstract

This paper is a defense of the old orthodox view that self-consciousness requires self-concepts. We will try to persuade the reader that intelligent beings lacking self-concepts are not self-conscious. The alleged cases of primitive nonconceptual self-consciousness are better understood as ancestors in the developmental prehistory of genuine self-consciousness. We distinguish three levels of subject-involvement. In the first, the representational content of experiences is subject-free and the being is merely concerned rather self-referred by its own experiences. We call this view self-concernment without self-representation. In the second level, the being is self-aware in the sense that it is the object of its own attention. The key feature of this level is what psychologists call ¡°objectivation.¡± Self-awareness is not genuine self-consciousness, however, in the sense of being conscious of oneself as the subject of representations. We therefore call this level self-awareness without self-consciousness. The emerging picture is this: selves are not just the subjects of representations. Their metaphysical nature lies in their capacity to represent themselves as the subjects of their own representations.

Suggested Citation

  • Roberto Horacio de Sa Pereira, 2015. "The Myth of Nonconceptual Self-Consciousness," Journal of Social Science Studies, Macrothink Institute, vol. 2(2), pages 176-198, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:mth:jsss88:v:2:y:2015:i:2:p:176-198
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