 Dewey also tried to get at consciousness performatively, so to speak; he provoked the reader to consider the nature of consciousness while reading. Here, again, he utilized notions of “focus” and “fringe”, emphasizing how the latter is indispensable for mental orientation (EN, LW1: 231). As physical balance controls walking, mind’s meanings constantly adjust and direct present, focal interpretation. The progressive advance of vivid consciousness is enabled by mind’s pervasive and persistent system of meanings.