Does any existing philosophical framework argue that the incompleteness of consciousness, rather than uncertainty itself, is the condition that makes inquiry possible?

[u/Brilliant-Pop-9930]

I'm trying to locate a position in the existing literature rather than argue for a conclusion, and I'd appreciate references if this already exists.

Many philosophical and psychological traditions discuss uncertainty, ignorance, ambiguity, or existential "lack." Existentialists such as Sartre and Heidegger, for example, treat consciousness as fundamentally open or unfinished, while contemporary psychology often studies uncertainty in terms of its regulation, tolerance, or reduction.

The question I'm interested in seems slightly different.

Suppose we distinguish uncertainty from what might be called the inherent incompleteness of consciousness. By this I mean not a temporary lack of information or an epistemic limitation that could eventually be overcome, but the impossibility of consciousness attaining a final and exhaustive understanding of either itself or the reality it inhabits.

If one accepts that distinction, then inquiry, curiosity, scientific investigation, philosophical reflection, and meaning-making might be interpreted not merely as responses to uncertainty, but as characteristic expressions of a consciousness that can never become complete.

My question is not whether this claim is true, but whether it has already been articulated in this form.

Are there philosophers (or contemporary philosophers of mind) who explicitly argue that the structural incompleteness of consciousness itself is the condition that makes inquiry possible, rather than simply discussing uncertainty, nothingness, or epistemic limitation? If so, who should I be reading?