The feeling of being alive: phenomenology and biology
Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences April 6, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s11097-026-10145-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Depression Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Lived body Self-awareness Consciousness Vitality Conation Autopoiesis Homeostasis Cotard syndrome |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that self-awareness is grounded in the life process of the whole organism, not in neural correlates of consciousness alone. |
Abstract
The feeling of being alive points to an intricate connection between the organic process of life and foundational subjective experience, or between life and experience ( Leben and Erleben ). Based on this premise, I argue that self-experience cannot be understood as an internal mental space or a “self-model” that could be produced and localized in the brain, but rather that it is a manifestation of the life of the organism as a whole. I first examine in detail the phenomenology of the feeling of life, distinguishing between two components: vitality (basic vital feelings) and conation (drive, urge, desire). Furthermore, I demonstrate the foundations of both components in self-regulating processes that maintain the homeostasis of the entire organism. The sufficient basis of self-awareness cannot then be found in individual “neural correlates of consciousness,” but only in the self-organization and life process of the organism in its relationship to the environment. The feeling of being alive is then shown to be the fundamental form of self-awareness, both from a phenomenological and a biological point of view. Finally, the paper explores the psychopathology of the feeling of being alive, taking the examples of depression and Cotard syndrome.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 9
- Moments in Time Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience 2011
- Abnormal Time Experiences in Major Depression: An Empirical Qualitative Study Psychopathology December 15, 2016
- Giving thickness to the minimal self: coenesthetic depth and the materiality of consciousness Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences April 1, 2026
- The Circularity of the Embodied Mind. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
- Emotional Experience and Awareness of Self: Functional MRI Studies of Depersonalization Disorder. Frontiers in Psychology 2016
and 4 more in the library