Lawall (1968) describes criticism of consciousness as "a reading that explores the work’s expression of a conscious, perceiving being." Poulet's goal is to "and [re-create the author's own expression"(78). It is possible for the reader to recreate the individual experience of the author because that experience is both personal and universal. For Poulet, the critic's job is to " his mind of its personal qualities so that it may coincide completely with the consciousness expressed in the words of the author" (Miller 307). While reading a book, Poulet is "aware of a rational being, of a consciousness: the consciousness of another, no different from the one I automatically assume in every human being I encounter, except that in this case the consciousness is open to me" (Poulet 54). Poulet calls this consciousness the author's "cogito". The "cogito" is "each person's perception and creation of his own existence" (Lawall 86).