The concept of pre-reflectivity goes back to Sartre's talk
conscience de soi et connaissance de soi
(1947) and describes the idea that every reflective state of consciousness is based on a pre-reflective consciousness and not directly on an unconscious.
A theory of pre-reflective self-consciousness (TOPS) tries to fulfill the de-se-constraint, which states that an adequate theory of self-consciousness needs to be able to explain how the very basis of subjectivity arises. It further states that all reflective approaches to self-consciousness will inevitably lead to a vicious circle of explanation.
Despite the very interesting debate on how to exactly define pre-reflectivity, my current research investigates the application of pre-reflectivity to cognitive deviations found in clinical psychology as well as dreaming.