Alexander of Aphrodisias on Mental Representation

Abstract Alexander took phantasia as a capacity separate from perception by appealing to differences in their defining objects. While the object of perception is external, that of phantasia is internal: a residue of perceptual activity. What is it in virtue of which the residue represents its content? I argue for a causal account: a residue represents in virtue of preserving fully some content that originates in perception with which it has causal continuity , sometimes involving internal causal mechanisms ( impressing further and picturing ) that modify the residue. I suggest that this account can serve as a foundation for explaining representation.