The object of this study is to find a coherent theoretical approach to three problems which appear to interrelate in complex ways: (1) What is the ontological status of consciousness? (2) How can there be "unconscious,' "prereflective' or "self-alienated' consciousness? And (3) Is there a "self' or "ego' formed by means of the interrelation of more elementary states of consciousness? The motivation for combining such a diversity of difficult questions is that we often learn more by looking at interrelations of problems than we could by viewing them only in isolation. The three questions posed here have emerged as especially problematic in the context of twentieth century philosophy.