 As the foundation of experience and presupposition of knowledge, Śaṅkara’s witnessing consciousness precedes his epistemology. The difficulty he faces, however, is how to bridge self-illuminating consciousness, which is unchanging and non-relational, to cognition and intentional experience within the individual knower. He develops a reflection or semblance (pratibimba or ābhāsa) theory of consciousness to address such issues. The deeper purpose of this theory however is to develop an account for individuals superimposing false identities on consciousness (see US ch.18 for Śaṅkara’s most detailed discussion of reflection, as well as BṛUBh 4.3.7 and ChUBh 6.3.2).