What does it mean to experience reality from the first-person perspective?
In this episode of MANA, we sit down with Dan Zahavi — Professor at the University of Copenhagen, Director of the Center for Subjectivity Research, and one of the world’s most cited philosophers of mind.
A conversation bridging philosophy, cognition, psychology, and the human condition.
Phenomenology
How phenomenology studies lived experience and uncovers the hidden meaning structures behind human consciousness and perception.
Consciousness & Subjectivity
A discussion on consciousness as lived, first-person experience rather than mere information processing or brain activity.
The Self & Minimal Self
Exploring the idea that every experience carries a sense of “mineness” — a minimal first-person perspective tied to experience itself.
Intersubjectivity & Human Relations
How humans understand one another through embodied interaction, shared experience, and social connection.
Empathy
A phenomenological understanding of empathy through bodily presence, face-to-face interaction, and experiential access to others.
Buddhism & No-Self
A conversation on Buddhist philosophy, the “no-self” doctrine, and how it relates to phenomenology and subjectivity.
Mystical Experience & Ego Dissolution
Discussion of mystical unity, meditation, psychedelics, and whether consciousness can exist without a first-person perspective.
Subject–Object Relations
The relationship between mind and world, and why phenomenology rejects the strict separation between subject and object.
Panpsychism & Philosophy of Mind
Exploring modern debates about consciousness, proto-consciousness, illusionism, and the nature of reality.
Embodiment & Perception
How the body shapes perception, experience, and our interaction with the world around us.
Hermeneutics & Self-Interpretation
How interpretation shapes identity, selfhood, and the ongoing development of the human self.
Technology & Human Connection
The impact of digital communication on empathy, embodied presence, and authentic human interaction.
Meaning & The Human Condition
A broader reflection on meaning, everyday experience, and what phenomenology can teach us about being human.
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