Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit:
100.
ARGUMENT:
the relation in which knowing and the object was first presented is now reversed
the object which was regarded as essential is now unessential
for the universal which the object has come to be is no longer what the object was
certainty is now to be found in the opposite element - knowing
its truth is in the object as my object - and its being - mine
it is because I know it
sense certainty is in the 'I'
COMMENTARY:
the object is outside of my consciousness
and the object is inside my consciousness
the object exists as a duality -
it exists as a dimensional duality - inside and out
outside of this dimensional analysis what can we say of the object - of the object in
itself?
from such a point of view we can only say we do not know
the essence of the object if you like - as that which is beyond dimensions in some
sense - is not knowable
the thing in itself is not known
we assume a correspondence between the internal presentation and the external reality
(the object regarded as just an external thing has no qualities - it can only be known in
formal - mathematical or logical terms
nevertheless it is the logical instance on which we hang our conscious
characterizations)
so - at the heart of conscious apprehension is the unity of dimensions - we are talking
about one thing - that has two dimensions - the unity that is appearance
and its appearance is its existence - its being
what I know is what appears - there is no certainty at all in this
appearance is neither certain nor uncertain -
it simply is
certainty is a construction of thought - that serves certain purposes - primarily
organizational -
we look for a certain premise in order to base our conclusions
it is just a way of organizing thought for action
in this sense certainty is a proposed standard of construction
it has no logical basis - but nevertheless we often choose to assume it for practical
matters
the only sense of certainty is pragmatic
we have more luck in life I would suggest by operating with uncertainty
if you close off avenues of thought and action (via the stratagem of certainty) you are
more likely to get stuck
