The Self as Perspectival Consciousness: Advaita Vedānta and the Elusive Sense of Self
Journal of Consciousness Studies June 1, 2025 Charles Fink
The sense of self is a pervasive yet elusive feature of conscious experience. The author argues that this elusiveness arises because we experience ourselves as beings in the world, but this is not what we truly are. The paradox of self-identity is explored through the lens of Advaita Vedānta, which holds that the true self, the ātman, is not a subject of consciousness but consciousness itself. This consciousness is not a worldly phenomenon and does not exist within us, which explains why the self cannot be objectified. The paper presents this philosophical solution to the paradox.