Consciousness and the self

In this paper I argue that, even though there is no doubt that to understand consciousness we have to understand the brain, the idea that a complete understanding of the essence of the phenomenon of human consciousness might derive from neuroscience alone is more disputable. Major progress in our understanding of the phenomenon of consciousness can certainly derive from neuroscience, but, as far as human consciousness is concerned, the thesis that since consciousness starts as a biological reality the proper locus of its analysis and explanation lies in neuroscience encounters serious difficulties. In particular, any theory of human consciousness that entails an explanation of the genesis and the nature of the subject of experience would require reference to social and cultural phenomena as well as to biological phenomena: the science of human consciousness, then, cannot avoid being intrinsically pluralistic in character.