1Kant: A Unified Representational Base for All Consciousness

Kant had the makings of an extremely rich and interesting version of the idea that self-presenting representations are the representational base of consciousness. Stripped down to its bare minimum, he held the view that common or garden representations present not just what they are about, not just their object. They also present themselves and they present oneself, their subject, that is to say, the thing that has them. The situation with respect to the evidence that he held this view is complicated, however, more complicated than is usually the case even with Kant. Because of the way the mind fit, or did not fit, into his overall projects, everything he had to say about the mind is sketchy and incomplete. Also, Kant’s route into his point of view is very different from any of the routes that researchers follow now. As a result of the latter, he does not consider many of the issues that are at the centre of discussion now. So let us start with the overall project and how the mind in general and consciousness in particular fit into it. 1. Kant’s Overall Project Kant’s most famous work is the Critique of Pure Reason (CPR) of 1781/7 (two editions). For purposes of understanding his views on the mind and consciousness, this work and a small boo