This introductory chapter begins with an explanation of the main focus of the book, namely the central aspects of self-consciousness. It then discusses a first-person reference, in particular it talks about two strategies one might take in response to the objection that an appeal to the self-reference principle will be insufficient to explain first-person reference: the reductionist strategy and the two-tier strategy. An inquiry into actions and self-knowledge and an overview of the chapters in this volume are presented.
Keywords: self consciousness, first-person reference, self-knowledge, reductionist strategy, two-tier strategy