The Role of Consciousness in Karol Wojtyła’s Philosophy of the Human Person

Abstract

The text places Karol Wojtyla’s concept of consciousness in the context of the development of the modern philosophy of consciousness. This development – from Descartes to Husserl – led to its opposition to the classical philosophy of being, so that eventually being itself was considered a product of consciousness. In this article, I present the rationale for Wojtyla’s belief that the theme of consciousness – and, more broadly, the dialogue with the philosophy of consciousness – is worth addressing within the framework of what is known as classical philosophy, i.e., the philosophy of being derived from ancient and medieval sources. After presenting an understanding of the essence and functions of consciousness in the philosophy of person developed by Wojtyla, I point out the implications of this approach for epistemological and moral issues.