One might object that persistence of consciousness in deep sleep is not possible given the mainstream premise of identifying consciousness as intentional experience. Śaṅkara disagrees with the premise that consciousness is intrinsically intentional. (This was a matter of great debate between Advaita Vedānta and rival philosophies like Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika). He counters that the absence of intentional experience in deep sleep does not entail the lack of consciousness insofar as consciousness is not in