Published In
History of Philosophy Quarterly
Document Type
Post-Print
Publication Date
2008
Abstract
Locke’s theory of consciousness is often appropriated as a forerunner of present-day Higher-Order Perception (HOP) theories, but not much is said about it beyond that. We offer an interpretation of Locke’s account of consciousness that portrays it as crucially different from current-day HOP theory, both in detail and in spirit. In this paper, it is argued that there are good historical and philosophical reasons to attribute to Locke the view not that conscious states are accompanied by higher-order perceptions, but rather that conscious states constitute perceptions of themselves.
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Citation Details
Coventry, A., & Kriegel, U. (2008). Locke on consciousness. History of Philosophy Quarterly, 25(3), 221-242.