A Pre-Epistemology of Consciousness

Max Velmans' target article and response to commentaries in the Journal of Consciousness Studies, Vol. 9, No. 11, 2002, can be seen as something of a milestone in the history of consciousness studies. In them he takes this elusive subject to the limits of rational discussion. Through exhaustive analysis and theorizing, he fills the gaps in our understanding of the multifaceted mind-brain issue. On the one hand, he establishes the mutual irreducibility of the two. On the other, he elucidates their causal interactions. As he explains on page 91, this is possible only because both mind and brain 'are grounded in something deeper' — a 'self-revealing universe'. The ultimate nature of that universe is neither pure matter, nor pure spirit. It is a combination of the two.