Non-Reductive Theories of Consciousness and Phenomenology

Abstract

In the paper I attempt a comparison of non-reductive analytic theories of
consciousness (T. Nagel, J. Searle) with phenomenological theories. These two
kinds of theories share the fundamental assumption that consciousness is most
important for the understanding of the nature of the human mind and it cannot be
explained in some more elementary terms. I discuss some of the differences in
the conceptualizations of mental phenomena between them in order to gain a
better insight and to find some more points of convergence. In particular, I
analyze the concept of ‘subjectivity’ of the mental and the problem of the
subject of consciousness.