In this paper, we examine the relationship between subjective experience, self-awareness and scientific knowledge through the lens of cognitive science and the evolution of causal thinking. We present a developmental (historical) account of how scientific knowledge emerges from two alienation processes: the organism’s differentiation from its environment (enabling the manifest image) and from its own body (enabling self-awareness and the scientific image). By exploring these evolutionary dynamics, we build on Sellars’s integrative vision, suggesting that the scientific image, rather than replacing the manifest image, is fundamentally dependent on it. This approach sheds light on enduring philosophical concerns about agency, free will, and the tension between subjective experience and scientific objectivity.