DAVID RUDRAUF, ANTOINE LUTZ, DIEGO COSMELLI, JEAN-PHILIPPE LACHAUX, and MICHEL LE VAN QUYEN
Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Imagerie Cérébrale, CNRS UPR 640,Paris, France
Corresponding Author: David Rudrauf. Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Imagerie Cérébrale, CNRS UPR 640, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 47 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75651, Paris Cedex 13, France.
Phone: (33-1) 42 16 11 72 - e-mail: david.rudrauf@chups.jussieu.fr
ABSTRACT
This paper reviews in detail Francisco Varela's work on subjectivity and consciousness in the biological sciences. His original approach to this "hard problem" presents a subjectivity that is radically intertwined with its biological and physical roots. It must be understood within the framework of his theory of a concrete, embodied dynamics, grounded in his general theory of autonomous systems. Through concepts and paradigms such as biological autonomy, embodiment and neurophenomenology, the article explores the multiple levels of circular causality assumed by Varela to play a fundamental role in the emergence of human experience.
