  We revisit the electromagnetic problem of wave incidence upon a uniform,
dissipative dielectric slab of finite thickness. While this problem is easily
solved via interface field continuity, we treat it under the viewpoint of
radiative self-consistency, with interior current sources gauged by
ohmic/polarization comparisons against those of the exterior medium. Radiative
self-consistency yields an integral equation over the slab field giving a fully
constructive buildup of the reflected/transmitted contributions, without any
need for implicit determination via boundary conditions. Solution steps lead to
an exact cancellation of the interior field, and bring in still other
contributions of a reference medium variety, required to balance the incoming
excitation. Such balancing provides the linear conditions for slab field
determination. This two-step solution provides evidence of Ewald-Oseen
extinction, even though the analytic framework here differs from the proofs
available. We solve the balancing equations by vector manipulation without
determinants, and then offer a boundary value confirmation in the special case
of perpendicular incidence. In an appendix, we allow the the upper/lower half
spaces to differ, the upper serving as reference and remote launch site of the
incoming excitation. Effective currents now exist both within the slab and
throughout an entire half space, necessitating a provision for cross-talk
between slab and the radiating half space. The appendix provides an accelerated
presentation of these generalized features, but stops short of an explicit
field solution by reason of algebraic inflation. All logical details are
however displayed in plain view. The self-consistency program is far more
elegant and physically far more satisfying than the prevailing method of
scattered fields guessed as to their structure and then fixed by boundary
conditions.
