The Reflexive Nature of Consciousness
Advances in Consciousness Research March 27, 2008 Greg Janzen
Conscious states are inherently self-aware, possessing an implicit, built-in awareness of their own occurrence. Drawing on phenomenologists Brentano and Sartre, as well as recent analytic philosophy of mind, this book argues that subjects have immediate, non-objectual acquaintance with their conscious states. It further contends that phenomenal character—the 'what-it-is-like' dimension of experience—is constituted by this implicit self-awareness. This thesis contrasts with qualia theories, which attribute phenomenal character to sensations, and representationalism, which ties it to representational content.