Herbart develops his theory of disposition on the basis of persisting (stehende) and rising (steigende) representations (SW VI:  57).[50]  That is, all dispositions must ultimately be explicable in terms of persisting or rising representations, and nothing else. Taking first the case of a representation (or representational series) R that stands still in consciousness, its persistence may be due to the simultaneous and countervailing forces exerted on it by rising and inhibiting representations, \(R_r\) and \(R_i\), respectively. Hence we will feel the state of R as a “compression [Klemmung]” between \(R_r\) and \(R_i\) (SW VI: 64; 58; cf. LPs (1850): 31) and such states are “unpleasant feelings” (SW VI: 59). On the other hand, if a representation R rises, then it may encounter an obstacle that is not strong enough to prevent it from rising, or it may be aided by advantageous forces (SW VI: 58–9). Since these forces affect the real activity of representing, Herbart argues that we cannot be unconscious of their pressure upon or aid of R: 