Mirror of Nature, Mirror of Self

This monograph examines the metaphor of reflection in a mirror, widely used in Indian philosophical traditions to address problems about consciousness without reducing it to physical processes. Just as a face reflected in a mirror appears where it is not, consciousness and its properties—selfhood, subjectivity, qualia—are falsely perceived as related to cognitive and perceptive processes. The book systematically explores mirror models of consciousness in Sāṃkhya, Yoga, and Advaita-Vedānta, situating them in historical intellectual debates between reductionists and non-reductionists. It discusses their impact on theories of mental representation, knowledge, language, illusory causality, and the noumena-phenomena relationship, as well as soteriological and theological theories. Engaging with psychoanalysis and analytic philosophy of mind, the author defends a new model integrating consciousness-mind dualism, mind naturalism, and representationalism.

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Abstract

Abstract This monograph is about the metaphor of reflection in a mirror, frequently used in Indian philosophical traditions to address metaphysical, epistemological, and theological problems arising from a non-reductionist approach to consciousness. The metaphor stands for the idea that, just as a face, reflected in a mirror, appears where it is not, so do consciousness and its properties, such as the sense of self, subjectivity, and experience of qualia, stand in falsely perceived relations to cognitive and perceptive processes. The book explores various models of interaction between consciousness, the mind-body complex, and the world, based on the metaphor of reflection, in the philosophical schools of Sāṃkhya, Yoga, and Advaita-Vedānta. Mirror of Nature, Mirror of Self is the first systematic exploration of mirror models of consciousness across traditions. By grounding these theories in their historical intellectual context, the book sheds new light on an intense philosophical conversation between Indian reductionists and non-reductionists about consciousness. The book explores the impact of Indian mirror models on theories of mental representation, theories of knowledge, philosophy of language, debates on illusory causality and on the relationship between noumena and phenomena, as well as soteriological and theological theories. In a dialogue with psychoanalytical theory and analytic philosophy of mind, the book defends a new model of consciousness, integrating consciousness-mind dualism, mind naturalism, and representationalism about consciousness.