Abstract

Although sociology has as its purpose the analysis of human behavior, it has always had an ambivalent attitude with some key concepts for this kind of analysis. One of the most significant examples is that of conscience. On the one hand, the centrality of this concept for sociological analysis is showed by the spread of its use, both in classical authors and in contemporary authors; on the other, a clear and shared definition of it is considered out of the question, since it cannot be reduced to the empirical methods of scientificity that are still prevalent in contemporary sociology. The essay proposes a possible alternative approach that, stimulated by the influence of neuroscience and cognitive sciences, can lead to a new approach to the sociological study of consciousness.