The notion of a conscious model of oneself as an individual entity actively trying to establish epistemic relations to the world and to oneself, I think, comes very close to what we traditionally mean by notions like “subjectivity”.

The main function of consciousness is to maximize flexibility and context sensitivity.

Speaking as a phenomenologist, it seems to me that a considerable portion of mind wandering actually is “mental avoidance behaviour”, an attempt to cope with adverse internal stimuli or to protect oneself from a deeper processing of information that threatens self-esteem.

The most beautiful idea, perhaps, is that freedom and determinism can peacefully coexist: If our brains are causally determined in the right way, if they make us causally sensitive to moral considerations and rational arguments, then this very fact makes us free. Determinism and free will are compatible.

Thinking isn’t something you do. Most of the time, it’s something that happens to you.

A lot of evidence shows that most of our cognitive processing is unconscious – phenomenal experience is just a very small slice or partition of a much larger space in which mental processing takes place.

But it is also becoming evident that psychological evolution never optimized us for lasting happiness; on the contrary, it placed us on the hedonic treadmill. We are driven to seek pleasure and joy, to avoid pain and depression. The hedonic treadmill is the motor that nature invented to keep the organism running.

Only as long as we believe in our own identity over time does it make sense for us to make future plans, avoid risks, and treat our fellow human beings fairly – for the consequences of our actions will, in the end, always concern ourselves.

Scientists who believe that their discipline will progressively eliminate all philosophical problems are simply fooling themselves. What science can contribute to is the elimination of false philosophical problems.

Converging empirical data show that when we observe other human beings expressing emotions, we simulate them with the help of the same neural networks that are active when we feel or express these emotions ourselves.