Abstract

Critiques G. Edelman's Theory of Neuronal Group Selection , from the perspectives of social constructionism, contemporary theory of metaphor, and existential-phenomenological psychology. This theory provides a contemporary biological view of consciousness and the self. Edelman's notion of consciousness as purely biological, and his attempt to ground intentionality in the body, are reductionistic. It is suggested that phenomenological descriptions must be taken into the center of the problem of consciousness. An understanding of the relation of the experiential basis of metaphor and its ensuing ontological status, can offer a view of the influence of particular biological metaphors which could help to eliminate their reification in psychology and induce their critique. 2012 APA, all rights reserved)