An introduction to human consciousness

This text discusses human consciousness, focusing on its nature: what is it, what is it not? I intend to give an overview of the philosophical positions that have been taken by several scholars, starting with Descartes. In philosophers terms, it deals with the ontology (what is the nature?) and teleology (what is its function, if any?) of consciousness. For this reason, I don't discuss contemporary (neuroscientific) theories on consciousness, such as Dennett's multiple drafts model (Dennett, 1991)or integrated information theory (Tononi, 2008). I would be very happy if readers would go on and learn about such theories while keeping in mind the philosophical considerations I outline in this text.