Abstract

Following a controversially discussed postulate by Antonio Damasio, according to which consciousness of the self is based on feeling, a new proposal by Mark Solms questions conventional scientific assumptions all the more radically: long associated primarily with cortical processes, he locates a source of consistent subject consciousness in the midbrain; thus beyond procedures such as visual and linguistic schematization. The philosopher Manfred Frank, meanwhile, assumes that a concept of pre-reflective subjectivity can already be found in Novalis – a thesis, however, that remains disputed in scholarly research. The article proposes a rereading of Novalis’ philosophy of subjectivity against the backdrop of Solms’ model of consciousness. According to its thesis, this provides insights that can contribute to the further understanding of the Romantic concept of the subject and to mediating its divergent interpretations.