Proskēnē

The pre-conscious or pre-rational space in which impressions form with unnoticed value judgements before they enter awareness as fully shaped opinions.

Proskēnē (fore-stage) is a concept denoting the critical threshold between the involuntary impression (phantasia) and conscious assent (synkatathesis). In the theatre, the proskēnē was the antechamber in front of the stage proper, where actors prepared before becoming visible to the audience. The Stoics transferred this image to the inner life: the proskēnē is the place where evaluations take shape unobserved, before the hēgemonikon (ruling faculty) registers them as complete judgements. Anyone who fails to practise prosochē (attention) there allows automated reactions to solidify before consciously assenting to them.