Attention

While we shall concern ourselves in another context with the temporal circumstances of attention, its duration and constancy, there is one qualitative fact, which I shall term its constitution, that requires special explanation. In using this term, I am thinking of the image of the national constitution. An object can rule consciousness monarchically in such a way that it makes it difficult or even impossible for the other contents of consciousness to assert themselves simultaneously or even to replace it. However, a more republican constitution can also reign, in which multiple objects can share the office of power or can easily replace one another. Naturally, there are also many gradations. The constitution of attention may change in one and the same person depending on the circumstances: when taking an important examination, the one center of interest reigns monarchically; hunger, loud noises and other otherwise disruptive external and internal stimuli are powerless to redirect the mental activity, even temporarily. During a leisurely stroll, by contrast, the content of the representation currently in the focus of consciousness is easily displaced by a new impression.