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Full Idea
Self-consciousness is not a primitive datum, or in other words the observer's experiences are not intrinsically marked as his own.
Gist of Idea
Self-consciousness is not basic, because experiences are not instrinsically marked with ownership
Source
A.J. Ayer (The Central Questions of Philosophy [1973], §VI.A)
Book Ref
Ayer,A.J.: 'The Central Questions of Philosophy' [Penguin 1976], p.112
A Reaction
This is a very Humean, ruthlessly empiricist view of the matter. Plenty of philosophers (existentialists, or Charles Taylor) would say that our experiences have our interests or values built into them. Why are they experiences, and not just events?