The application of Critical Theory to the study of consciousness—examining how concepts of consciousness are shaped by culture, how they reflect power relations, and how they might be transformed. Critical Theory of Consciousness asks: Whose consciousness is studied? Whose is pathologized? How do cultural assumptions shape what counts as "altered" or "normal" consciousness? How has the study of consciousness been shaped by colonialism, racism, and sexism? Drawing on phenomenology, critical neuroscience, and decolonial thought, it insists that consciousness is never just a brain process—it's also history, culture, politics. Understanding consciousness requires understanding the social contexts that shape both experience and its study.
"They study consciousness as a brain process. Critical Theory of Consciousness asks: whose brain? Whose experience? The study of consciousness has often ignored the consciousness of women, people of color, colonized peoples—or pathologized it. Critical theory insists on asking: who gets to be conscious in the full sense? And what would consciousness studies look like if it took everyone's experience seriously?"
by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal March 4, 2026
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