Consciousness Theories in the Six Astikadarsanas

Abstract

Consciousness or how we have the double experience of subjectivity and objectivity in any knowledge episode is as enigmatic today as it was at the time of the ancient Vedic sages. Thinkers from v~rious disciplines have tried to unravel the ' phenomenon of consciousness' using their own methodologies to uncover this mystery. As Chalmers explains: ''The problem of consciousness lies uneasily at the border of science and philosophy"' and thus the methods used to understand this unique experience has also been multifarious, differing not only between science and philosophy but also between scientists of differing disciplines as, for instance, the life sciences and the physical sentences.