Nondual Awareness: Consciousness-as-such as non-representational reflexivity

Consciousness-as-such, or nondual awareness, is fundamentally different from the contents of awareness and levels of arousal. Its essential property is non-representational reflexivity, making it a unique kind that cannot be reduced to any contents, functions, or states, including the indeterminate substrate. This theoretical paper outlines an expanded map of consciousness that includes the indeterminate substrate and nondual awareness alongside well-known contents and arousal levels. The author further discusses a previous hypothesis on the precuneus network for nondual awareness in relation to non-representational reflexivity and other neural correlates.

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Abstract

I introduce arguments toward a non-representational reflexivity theory of consciousness-as-such to address one of the key issues in the science of consciousness today: lack of understanding of the nature of consciousness itself. An expanded map of consciousness is outlined, which includes, in addition to the well-known contents of awareness and levels of arousal, the indeterminate substrate and consciousness-as-such or nondual awareness. The central idea presented is that consciousness-as-such is a non-conceptual nondual awareness, whose essential property is non-representational reflexivity. This property makes consciousness-as-such phenomenologically, cognitively and neurobiologically a unique kind, different from and irreducible to any contents, functions and states, including the indeterminate substrate. Our previous hypothesis on the precuneus network for nondual awareness is further discussed in relation to non-representational reflexivity, and in the light of other hypotheses on the neural correlates of consciousness-as-such.