Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit:
167.
ARGUMENT:
we have now to see how the shape of self-consciousness first makes its appearance
if we consider this new shape of knowing - the knowing of itself - in relation to that
which preceded - the knowing of an other - then we see that though this other has
indeed vanished - its moments have been preserved - and here they are present as they
are in themselves
self-consciousness is the reflection out of the being of the world of sense and
perception - and is essentially the return from otherness
hence otherness is for it in the form of a being - or as a distinct moment - but there is
also for consciousness the unity of itself - with this difference as a second distinct
moment
with that first moment self-consciousness is in the form of consciousness - and the
whole expanse of the sensuous world is preserved for it - but only as connected with
the second moment - the unity of self-consciousness with itself - and hence the
sensuous world is for it an enduring existence
the unity of self-consciousness with itself is essential to self-consciousness
self consciousness is Desire in general
consciousness as self-consciousness has a double object - one is the immediate object
- that of sense certainty and perception - the second - itself - the true essence - and is
present in the first instance only as opposed to the first object
COMMENTARY:
the idea that consciousness recognizes - or as it were has the concept of the other -
and incorporates this into itself - is an attempt to give self-consciousness an analysis
also - self consciousness as the reflection out and return from the non-conscious - of
the reflection
my view is reflection is the act of consciousness -
self-consciousness is just this act
there is nothing behind this reflective act - no 'self' - no essence - no nothing
self-consciousness is reflectivity
it gets interesting when you try to say what this is - what reflectivity is
the point is I think is - we can only recognize the action - that's all -
and as to explaining it -
it needs to be understood that any account of reflection will be reflective
there is no other action we can perform as conscious beings
reflection is to the internal dimension - what reflex is to the external
and the thing is - you never leave reflection
one reflection can be the subject of another
this is the best you can say
and perhaps there is a law of diminishing returns in any such process
anyway the point is that any explanation of reflection - of self-consciousness - will be
a reflective argument - a reflective action -
so - there is no explanation of that which explains
and what this amounts to is that consciousness / self-consciousness - is not
accountable
we have no knowledge of it - we can only witness its action
and the witnessing itself - is this action
