the thing in itself
is like - I have argued regarding substance - a singular conception
a decision to regard a feature of the world
be it mind - or the world itself in isolation
so it is no surprise really
that out of such a deliberation might come concepts like timeless - spaceless -
eternity
they are simply concepts of negation
not time - not space
and because we can come to these concepts
we imagine we are conceiving positively
that there is in fact a timelessness - or no space
or no time - eternity
how to regard this?
if you are prone to run with the ontological argument -
well anything you conceive will have a positive reality
existence
this though depends on the assumption that whatever we think is real - is true
it is indeed a very optimistic view of the mind
perhaps based on the fear - that if the mind is not reliable on any one matter -
perhaps it has no bone fides at all
and this just another version of the idea that the self does not deceive - the self
it is fear of error
which is all very well - but there can as a result be a problem of population - and
population control
Oakum's razor was one sensible methodological attempt to bring some order to the
situation
what I say is that reflection - which is what mind does - what consciousness does - is
an operation
if you like a logical operation -
the action of consciousness -
understood this way - you can see that the performing of an operation does not in itself
create anything
it may transform what is already there - but nothing is brought into the world - by the
operation - the operation of consciousness
so thinking is an operation
the performing of an operation
and the operation is reflection
reflection is just a picture of what is already there
the fact of different pictures tells us mind is never sure
cannot be sure
mind is - reflection is - and is only possible given - uncertainty
here it is clear mind is best described as indeterminate
I have been rather quick here
the thing is - you can't really ever properly speak of consciousness or the mind - in
itself
it is always in relation to
there just are no absolutes
metaphysically speaking it is all relative
so to understand the operation that is mind
you must speak of mind in relation to its object
the object of knowledge
is the unknown
therefore
uncertainty
