The phenomenon of confidence in one’s own awareness can be explained by the fact that the immediate experience of our consciousness does not require additional confirmation.

The Incontrovertible Certainty of Conscious Presence

The phenomenon of confidence in one’s own awareness can be explained by the fact that the immediate experience of our consciousness does not require additional confirmation. That is, when we undergo a state, our consciousness is represented so vividly and directly that there is neither a need nor a possibility to distinguish the “real” from the seeming. This state provides us with a sense of absolute reliability, even if later on we might doubt the objective reality of these experiences.

As noted in one source, “as long as I directly perceive the presence before me…” our confidence is not supported by an evaluation of the object's reality but is based solely on the fact of its immediate availability. Thanks to such a direct representation, consciousness does not raise the question of whether the object is visible or genuine, since it is preoccupied with the very act of experiencing. This explains why even in the case of an illusory experience (for example, during sleep) the fact of the experience remains unquestionably valid at the moment of its occurrence (“…that which appeared to me is a fact that is real and unquestionably reliable…” (source: link txt, page: 46-49)).

Moreover, the reflections on the unconditional confidence of the knowing subject emphasize that this certainty transcends ordinary sensations and concepts. A “third cognitive element” comes into play, one that allows objects to be perceived through their unconditional presence, regardless of whether they are confirmed by sensory data or logical categories. This enables the subject to feel their awareness as an indisputable reality, even if such confidence might prove illusory from the standpoint of objective verification (“…the knowing subject acts not as an empirically sensory being nor as a rationally thinking one, but as an unconditional and free one…” (source: link txt, page: 329-330)).

Thus, the feeling of confidence in one’s own awareness can be attributed to the nature of the immediate representation of consciousness, which, being self-evident, is not subjected to momentary doubt. Even if the final assessment of external reality may turn out to be incorrect or illusory, the fact of consciousness itself remains a factor that gives us irrefutable confidence in our own experience.

Supporting citation(s):“As long as I directly perceive the presence before me of the fireplace, I do not ask: what is it?

... If this were not the case... then this would obviously preclude the possibility of any error regarding this matter…” (source: link txt, page: 56-57).

“From the fact described here with all possible precision, with a careful look it is easy to derive a dual testimony:... And then, upon waking, I would have to honestly confirm my answer regarding the dream that passed... that (dass, quod) which appeared to me is a fact that is real and unquestionably reliable.” (source: link txt, page: 46-49).

“And yet, meanwhile, this unconditional existence is affirmed in our consciousness precisely as immediate confidence... in this confidence our knowing subject acts not as an empirically sensory being, nor as a rationally thinking one, but as an unconditional and free one…” (source: link txt, page: 329-330).