'Intentional objects' are therefore both objects of consciousness and consciousness, and this is because consciousness is both itself a reflection of it. Sartre describes the cogito by noting that 'the consciousness which says I think'—this is to the consciousness that can reflect on the mental concept of thinking—is not 'the consciousness which thinks'.
Intentional objects and consciousness both reflect each other, with consciousness being a reflection of itself. Sartre elucidates the cogito by indicating that the consciousness asserting 'I think', which can reflect on the concept of thinking, is different from the conscious entity that actually thinks.