 An important inspiration for such theories lies in the idea that, pre-theoretically or commonsensically, we are inclined to endorse the idea that conscious states are states we are conscious of. One takes this to have the status of a necessary truth pertaining to all conscious states, and gives it a representationalist construal. This yields the starting point: some sort of higher-order or self-representation is necessary for a state to be conscious in a pre-theoretically recognized sense. We also have reason to believe mental states can occur unconsciously. So maybe: targeting potentially unconscious mental states with the right sort of representation necessary for them to be conscious will also yield a condition sufficient for them to be so, and reveal what it is to be a conscious state.