The theory of self-consciousness is an essential problem of philosophy since the modern times. Both Heidelberg School represented by D. Henrich and E. Tugendhat critically reflected on the traditional theory of self-consciousness, and revealed the circular dilemma of "the mode of reflection" of the traditional theory. In order to avoid the dilemma, they respectively posed the substitute formulas, whereas each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. Husserl had paid special and particular attention on the essential theme of the traditional theory of self-consciousness in his phenomenology, much earlier than Heidelberg School and Tugendhat did. By the distinction of "primal consciousness" and "reflection", Husserl explored the core problem of the traditional theory of self-consciousness in two different dimensions. Through the clarification of the founding relation of primal consciousness and reflection, the phenomenology of Husserl developed a new "reflection mode" of the theory of self-consciousness, different from the semantic approach of Tugendhat, which effectively avoids the circular dilemma of the traditional theory and does not narrow the problem domain of the traditional theory.
