David M. Rosenthal (philosopher)

David M. Rosenthal is an American philosopher known for his work in the philosophy of mind, particularly in areas concerning consciousness, perception, and the nature of mental states. He is notable for developing the "higher-order thought" (HOT) theory of consciousness, which posits that a person is conscious of a mental state if they have a higher-order thought about that state. In other words, a person is aware of their thoughts or experiences when they have thoughts about those thoughts.