Consciousness
Oxford Scholarship Online March 22, 2018 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198791485.003.0002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Brentano's theory of consciousness, interpreted as allowing a single mental state to be framed as either a first-order or second-order perception, is more plausible than commonly believed and than many modern theories. |
Abstract
It is argued that for Brentano, a conscious perception of a tree is a single mental state that can be (accurately) conceived of, or framed, either as a perception of a tree or as a perception of a perception of a tree. It is further argued that this interpretation casts Brentano’s theory as quite a bit more plausible than it is commonly taken to be, indeed more plausible than many modern theories of consciousness.