Phantasia (as Impression)

The mental impression or appearance arising from external perception or inner impulse, presented to consciousness before any judgment has been rendered about it.

Phantasia is the immediate perceptual or representational experience — the sight of food produces an impression, the craving for one's phone presents itself as an inner phantasia. It is the first stage before the Hegemonikon (the ruling faculty) passes judgment on that impression. It is best understood as an "impression" that is not yet an actual act but merely a mental event. The ability to recognise a phantasia as such — rather than immediately equating it with a compulsion to act — creates the critical space for rational resistance.