# Consciousness and no self? **Keywords:** attention, consciousness, distraction, no‐self, self, transparency **Abstract:** Phenomenal consciousness, what it is like for each particu‐ lar subject, seems to be at the heart of subjectivity and the primary home of the self. But is there in fact a role for the self in phenomenal consciousness? According to the phe‐ nomenal no‐self challenge, reflection on the character of phenomenal consciousness reveals no self and no subjec‐ tivity. I articulate an argument for this challenge based on the transparency of conscious experience. I then respond to this argument and show that there is an aspect of phe‐ nomenal consciousness that the challengers miss. This as‐ pect is active attention. In active attention, in particular in the ability to actively resist distractions, consciousness reveals an agential self: the experiencer is phenomenally manifest as an active power. I further show that the sub‐ ject’s active role in experience is plausibly present in every form of experience. **Authors:** [[Sebastian Watzl]]