  The introduction of absolute time-consciousness may solve one problem, but another quickly appears. If absolute time-consciousness is itself extended through time, and is composed of momentary phases, what is it that unifies these phases? We could posit a further and higher stratum of consciousness, but since the same issue immediately arises with respect to this new level, nothing would be gained. Husserl’s initial response was to hold that the flow of absolute consciousness is not an ordinary temporal process: it is not something which extends or flows through time, it is that within which time itself – in the form of temporal objects and processes – arises and  flows. Quite how Husserl’s doctrine of absolute consciousness should be construed has been much discussed by commentators; Hoerl (2013a) proposes – intriguingly – that it is linked to a previously overlooked Extensionalist tendency in Husserl’s   thought.[21]