Consciousness is the foundation of human awareness. Through consciousness, we are able to think, reason, question, reflect, judge, choose, and acknowledge ourselves, others, and the external world.
Consciousness allows us to constantly and immutably self-reflect and interact with the external world. It also provides us with the conscious and intellectual capacity to recognize assumptions, beliefs, preferences, and values (Frith, 2023; Kriete, 2025): “I think, therefore I am” (Descartes), or, “I am what I think, do, say, learn and choose” (Purje, 2014).
What about the unconscious? The unconscious refers to that which exists outside conscious awareness. It is unknown to the conscious self.
Imagine being asked what lies behind a door in a house that is unknown to you. There is no meaningful answer because the object of inquiry is entirely unknown. In the same way, asking an individual to identify an “unconscious bias” presents the same paradox (Levy, 2017).
If a bias is unconscious, then it is inaccessible to awareness, and self-evidently, whatever this unknown entity is, it cannot be consciously directed, regulated, or evaluated by the individual (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017).
The Essence of Conscious Awareness
The moment a person reflects upon a like, dislike, or preference—or identifies an assumption and examines a belief—that is when this “content” becomes a thought and enters the essence of conscious awareness (Greenwald & Krieger, 2006; Jolls & Sunstein, 2006; Levy, 2017).
As such, it becomes something that can be questioned, evaluated, supported, dismissed, and analyzed as many times as the individual so desires (Jolls & Sunstein, 2006; Levy, 2017).
Immanuel Kant argued that ethics and morality rest upon rational agency and so human beings are responsible for their actions because they possess the capacity to reason, analyze, deliberate, and make conscious choices. The Categorical Imperative assumes the existence of rational thought and conscious reflection. A person acts ethically and morally because they possess the ability to examine principles and determine whether those principles could be universally applied.
If ethics and morality depend upon conscious reasoning, an important question follows: How can a person be held accountable for something that is, by definition, unknown to conscious awareness? The universal answer is they cannot (Levy, 2017).
A proponent of “unconscious bias” may choose to say to another, “Your actions tell me that you are acting from unconscious bias.” There is but one universal answer to this: “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Free Will
Because of consciousness, we have free will, and because of this—as noted in Responsibility Theory—we are responsible for, and have power over, what we think, do, say, learn, and choose (Purje, 2014).
As such, we can choose to like or dislike anything and/or anyone. We can choose to agree or disagree with anyone and/or anything. We can choose to have an opinion, and we can choose to change that opinion, as many times and as often as we want. In the same way, we can choose to believe or disbelieve whatever we want. There is no limitation to this intellectual, conscious power.
Consequently, a person can choose to believe in the concept of “unconscious bias.” However, a belief in this concept does not make it a universal truth.
A Universal Truth Requires Objective Proof
From a Kantian perspective, a universal truth requires objective proof that satisfies human reason, not merely a subjective belief.
Kant would remind us that we cannot claim universal certainty about a concept that, by its very definition, completely evades conscious human experience. Therefore, any ethical or moral judgment or “rule” based on“unconscious bias” does not meet the test of the Categorical Imperative.
For a principle to meet this standard of universality, it must be an ethical and moral rule that a rational person can consciously choose to universally act upon without contradiction.
Because the Categorical Imperative demands deliberate, rational, and reasoned choice, “unconscious bias” cannot form the basis of any universal ethical or moral duty. Consequently, you cannot logically command a rational agent to be ethically or morally responsible for a concept dictated by something their own conscious mind cannot perceive.
