Abstract: Self-knowledge of mental states is often thought to be achieved directly. However， in the view of inferentialists， the way to achieve self-knowledge is normally indirect， namely， through inference based on evidence， and the evidence for self-ascriptions involves certain experiential episodes called “internal promptings”. The inferential account faces the criticisms from directness theories， while in fact they fail to cause serious damage to it. When dealing with the self-knowledge which is not obtained through explicit inferences， the inferential account presupposes “unconscious inference” without further clarification， jeopardizing its applicability to self-knowledge through non-explicit inferences and thus their generality. Since “unconscious inference” is different from explicit inference in the form of inference， the generality of inferential account depends on a pluralist understanding of “inference”.

Key words: self-knowledge; internal prompting; evidence; unconscious inference; pluralism