A Dialectical Approach to the Question of Consciousness

Cognitive neuroscience is a multidisciplinary field at the intersection of neurophysiology, psychology and philosophy, among others. An important objective of cognitive neuroscience is to explain the nature of conscious experience. Its associated research programme is carried out in two directions: from neural correlates to phenomenal experience, and from phenomenal experience to the substrate. Each paradigm produces a body of work, but neither seems to be able to cross the explanatory gap. We think that the problem is not the complexity of biological consciousness itself, but the scientific expectation of linear causality. Here we explore an alternative philosophical approach, specifically Hegelian dialectics, which allows for non-linear, even multi-vector causality through its concept of contradiction. We propose and apply a rationalization method based on dialectics. Surprisingly, the approach leads to a fairly comprehensive account of consciousness, including phenomenality and ontology. We come to the conclusion that consciousness emerges in vertebrate evolution as a synthesis of cellular pre-adaptations and the process of encephalization, and constitutes a new mode of behavioral control. Our framework may prove useful for philosophy and future research in cognitive neuroscience.