8.8 Andrea Lavazza – Dall’anima all’io al “vuoto”: l’eliminativismo e tre risposte

The main strands of contemporary philosophy, in the wake of empiricism and naturalism, have gradually replaced the notion of soul with that of I/self as a key principle in the investigation of the interiority of the human being. The advent of cognitive sciences (empirical psychology and neuroscience) is highlighting the presumed disruptedness of the ego, certainly showing its weakness with respect to the strength referred to in the classical descriptions. After briefly outlining the path that leads to eliminativist positions with respect to the self, defined illusory, I present three perspectives – an empirical one, a metaphysical one and a phenomenological- social one – that, at least in part with new arguments, defend the presence of an “I” endowed with identifiable and not illusory characteristics.