Self-awareness and freedom of choice: the existential dimension of the formation of consciousness

Abstract

The relevance of this study is determined by the intensification of social, existential, and digital transformations in the contemporary world, which significantly alter the conditions under which human consciousness and identity are formed. In a context of growing uncertainty, crisis challenges, and algorithmic mediation, traditional conceptions of subject autonomy, freedom of choice, and responsibility prove insufficient for explaining actual practices of self-determination. This necessitates a holistic philosophical rethinking of self-awareness that takes into account the existential, social, and bodily dimensions of human existence. The aim of the study is to provide a philosophical substantiation of freedom and self-awareness as interrelated factors in the formation of human consciousness and identity through an analysis of the dynamics of choice and responsibility under contemporary social, digital, and existential transformations. The methodological framework of the research is based on the existential–phenomenological approach, hermeneutic analysis, interdisciplinary synthesis of philosophical, social, and psychological concepts, as well as the method of conceptual modeling. Methods of analysis and generalization are employed to interpret contemporary forms of freedom, choice, and responsibility, as well as bodily and social experience in the process of consciousness formation. The results of the study consist in conceptualizing consciousness as an open existential process formed through the interaction of freedom, choice, responsibility, social practices, and bodily experience. The ontological character of freedom as a precondition of subjectivity is substantiated, and responsibility is shown to be its substantive continuation rather than an external limitation. It is demonstrated that, under conditions of digitalization and crisis situations, choice acquires a multidimensional character while retaining its central role in the formation of authentic identity. An original integrative model of consciousness formation is proposed, combining existential, social, and bodily dimensions of human experience and overcoming reductionist approaches to the understanding of consciousness.