P.XXIV. The human mind does not involve an adequate knowledge of the parts
composing the human body.
simple awareness in the sense of acknowledgment of the states of the body - is no
more than brute awareness -
it is not knowledge - in fact it is the ground of not-knowing
such awareness is the awareness that we do not know -
we experience - but what is it we experience?
in order to deal with this awareness - to operate with it - we must give it definition -
give it character -
we never start from scratch here - always we begin with the given of accepted
knowledge
that is whatever constructions - whatever imaginations - are regarded as true
and true here is what is useful - what functions
what is clear is that with any awareness of the body comes the awareness of just what
is not known -
my point is that inadequate ideas - point not primarily to what we know - but rather to
what is not known
in fact any idea is an inadequate idea just by the fact that it will always be a partial
representation of what exists
and this is all an idea can be
we operate not in knowledge - but in ignorance -
ideas themselves have no real epistemological value unless they are placed in the form
of an argument
or in a context and in relation to other ideas
any such argument will depend for its currency on its validity and the truth of its
premises - and these matters are never settled in a conclusive manner -
so in effect what we have when we speak of knowledge is really different
characterizations of the unknown
different ideas of the unknown
the value of any such idea or system of ideas is never certain -
to understand why people believe what they do about the unknown - that is how they
characterize it and why they hold to any such characterization one really needs to go
outside of logic and epistemology
it is here that power is the issue - it is not a question of logic - logic in this context is only a tool of persuasion - one though that has the mark of respectability
we may never fully understand what forces operate on belief and therefore on action
but clearly we all come into a world ready made - there is not and never has been a
clean slate - the waters are always muddied - the definitions are in place
understanding what we are dealing with - what has been imposed on us and why is a
life's work
and the understandings are not fixed - the search for truth is never finished - and in an ultimate sense is quite hopeless
we in fact only engage in it out of the necessity to deal with and survive in this world
it gives us method
the issue of life is not the end point - rather the next point -
and how we get there is the problem of knowledge
no doubt we would get somewhere anyway - and some would argue this is in fact all
that occurs
nevertheless consciousness gives us a sense of purpose even if this is illusory
- the immediate forces of our lives place us in conflict - and the point of a conflict is
that it be resolved
here is the fact of choice - choice in necessity - and the reality is we don't know in any
clear sense what is the correct or proper choice - nevertheless we must decide -
and decide in what we regard at the time to be in our best interests -
this is just where not-knowing gives us possibility - it is the source of possibility
and the fact of this possibility - the possibility that comes with not-knowing is the fact
of human freedom - and the source of human dignity
so long as one can think one can never be ruled - one can never be conquered
the illusion of knowledge is the ground of power - it is the source of corruption
not-knowing is the mark of a free man - it is the sign of an open heart
Skeptikos
Skeptikos is a philosophical journal by Greg. T. Charlton. (c) Copyright: 2005. All rights reserved. Killer Press.
10.3.08
Spinoza on mind VII
P.XXIII. The mind does not know itself except in so far as it perceives the idea of the
affections of the body.
the ideas of the affections of the body - the ideas of the states of the body
if the mind is idea - what we have here is the argument that the mind perceives the
mind
the physical states of the body are also ideas
Spinoza thinks the mind perceives - both the affections - and the ideas
the perception of the affection is a perception of what?
presumably it is an awareness - but an awareness of what?
- an awareness of the body or of a state of the body -
and is this awareness not an idea?
how does the perception of the affectation differ from the perception of the idea of the
affectation
the idea of the affectation we can say is the thought of it
is this to suggest that the experience of it is something different to the thought of it
you could say one presupposes the other - the idea follows the experience of it
the experience though is an awareness - and in that sense an idea
so the idea of the awareness is the idea of what - the idea -
now the idea of the idea - if that is possible - has no content
so - the affection is irrelevant
so can Spinoza distinguish the perception of affections of the body and the perception
of the ideas of the body?
my argument is the states of the body are not known outside of consciousness
awareness makes an unknown known - and we may not know how this happens but it
happens - we can on the basis of awareness deal with what has occurred
so we have in this case the affections of the body as unknown - and the affections as
known -
when known we can say we then have an idea of the state of the body
the idea was not what was perceived - the idea is the result
OK
the mind does not know itself except in so far as it perceives the ideas of the
affections of the body
so can the result - as I have represented it - be perceived?
we can be aware and aware of our awareness
we can focus on an idea - hold an idea - and make it the subject of further thinking
would you call this perceiving ideas?
it is being aware of ideas - perception as I understand it is the focus outside of ideas
the focus outside of mind
so I wouldn't use the term 'perceiving' here
it seems to me that P.XXIII. amounts to saying that the mind's knowledge of itself is
knowledge of the body
what knowledge we have of the mind comes off the body
the mind's knowledge of itself -
it's a question what you want to include here
but I would say the fact of awareness is the mind's knowledge of itself
awareness includes itself
NB.
what is it for the mind to hold anything as object - be that an affection of the body or
an idea?
it is to say the mind is aware of -
the object is represented in the mind
consciousness is thus representation
and so consciousness is thus that which enables representation
and this representation?
it is the showing or the revelation of
that which is outside of mind is reflected in mind
and so consciousness and its object -
a relation -
the relation that is appearance
so this reflection -
of object to subject
what I am saying is that appearance only occurs because of consciousness
so consciousness enables appearance
enables the world to appear
as I argue consciousness is an internal dimension of reality
it is a dimension - that reveals the external -
the world has this feature of revelation
it is nature - the world seeing itself
consciousness enables the seeing
it is not a feature of the external world - it is an internal attribute - the internal
attribute
it is in what you might call meta-evolutionary terms the evolution of internality
with the emergence of internality we have life - life is the internal / extetrnal relation - it is what results
this emergence of internality - is in a logical sense the emergence of relation
prior to such an emergence - it makes no sense to speak of anything being related to
anything else
the fact of consciousness is the fact of relativity
in this sense - though the mind is not an external feature
it is nevertheless a natural fact
a fact of nature
and it is clear that appearance - the appearance of the world is predicated on the fact of
consciousness
therefore any account of the nature of the world - any science of nature
must reflect this fact
it is the fact that in any seeing there is a seer that is not seen
so any comprehensive understanding of the world must take into account this unseen
seer
this unseen seer is consciousness
and just because it is unseen - it remains in any scientific description
in any scientific theory - the invisible elephant in the room
the unknown that is at the heart of all knowledge
it is the set that is a member of itself
it is at least this
and for this reason it is the strangest of things
affections of the body.
the ideas of the affections of the body - the ideas of the states of the body
if the mind is idea - what we have here is the argument that the mind perceives the
mind
the physical states of the body are also ideas
Spinoza thinks the mind perceives - both the affections - and the ideas
the perception of the affection is a perception of what?
presumably it is an awareness - but an awareness of what?
- an awareness of the body or of a state of the body -
and is this awareness not an idea?
how does the perception of the affectation differ from the perception of the idea of the
affectation
the idea of the affectation we can say is the thought of it
is this to suggest that the experience of it is something different to the thought of it
you could say one presupposes the other - the idea follows the experience of it
the experience though is an awareness - and in that sense an idea
so the idea of the awareness is the idea of what - the idea -
now the idea of the idea - if that is possible - has no content
so - the affection is irrelevant
so can Spinoza distinguish the perception of affections of the body and the perception
of the ideas of the body?
my argument is the states of the body are not known outside of consciousness
awareness makes an unknown known - and we may not know how this happens but it
happens - we can on the basis of awareness deal with what has occurred
so we have in this case the affections of the body as unknown - and the affections as
known -
when known we can say we then have an idea of the state of the body
the idea was not what was perceived - the idea is the result
OK
the mind does not know itself except in so far as it perceives the ideas of the
affections of the body
so can the result - as I have represented it - be perceived?
we can be aware and aware of our awareness
we can focus on an idea - hold an idea - and make it the subject of further thinking
would you call this perceiving ideas?
it is being aware of ideas - perception as I understand it is the focus outside of ideas
the focus outside of mind
so I wouldn't use the term 'perceiving' here
it seems to me that P.XXIII. amounts to saying that the mind's knowledge of itself is
knowledge of the body
what knowledge we have of the mind comes off the body
the mind's knowledge of itself -
it's a question what you want to include here
but I would say the fact of awareness is the mind's knowledge of itself
awareness includes itself
NB.
what is it for the mind to hold anything as object - be that an affection of the body or
an idea?
it is to say the mind is aware of -
the object is represented in the mind
consciousness is thus representation
and so consciousness is thus that which enables representation
and this representation?
it is the showing or the revelation of
that which is outside of mind is reflected in mind
and so consciousness and its object -
a relation -
the relation that is appearance
so this reflection -
of object to subject
what I am saying is that appearance only occurs because of consciousness
so consciousness enables appearance
enables the world to appear
as I argue consciousness is an internal dimension of reality
it is a dimension - that reveals the external -
the world has this feature of revelation
it is nature - the world seeing itself
consciousness enables the seeing
it is not a feature of the external world - it is an internal attribute - the internal
attribute
it is in what you might call meta-evolutionary terms the evolution of internality
with the emergence of internality we have life - life is the internal / extetrnal relation - it is what results
this emergence of internality - is in a logical sense the emergence of relation
prior to such an emergence - it makes no sense to speak of anything being related to
anything else
the fact of consciousness is the fact of relativity
in this sense - though the mind is not an external feature
it is nevertheless a natural fact
a fact of nature
and it is clear that appearance - the appearance of the world is predicated on the fact of
consciousness
therefore any account of the nature of the world - any science of nature
must reflect this fact
it is the fact that in any seeing there is a seer that is not seen
so any comprehensive understanding of the world must take into account this unseen
seer
this unseen seer is consciousness
and just because it is unseen - it remains in any scientific description
in any scientific theory - the invisible elephant in the room
the unknown that is at the heart of all knowledge
it is the set that is a member of itself
it is at least this
and for this reason it is the strangest of things
Spinoza on mind VI
'P.XXII. the human mind not only perceives the affections of the body, but also the
ideas of the affectations.
Demonstration. The ideas of the ideas of affections follow in God and are related to
God in the same way as the ideas themselves of affections. This is demonstrated like
Proposition XX, part II. But the ideas of the affections of the human body are in the
human mind (Proposition XII, part II) that is to say, in God (Proposition XI, part II,
Corollary), in so far as He constitutes the essence of the human mind; therefore, the
ideas of these ideas will be in God in so far as He has knowledge or idea of the human
mind; that is to say (Proposition 21, part II), they will be in the human mind itself,
which therefore, not only perceives the affections of the body, but also the idea of the
affections.'
the mind perceives the affections of the body but also the ideas of these affections
so a state of the body is perceived by the mind - which must mean the person is aware
of the state of the body
this awareness is an internalization of the surface event
on reflection the event has a double aspect - an internal and external dimension
a conscious - and as a matter of logic a non-conscious dimension
the experience of the affection though - is not divided -
the experience is unified
to say the event has an internal and external dimension is really to analyze it
and we do this in order to describe - so as to be able to understand it - and we have to
have some understanding of it in order to deal with it
prior to this analytical treatment the event - the unified event - is unknown
unknown in the sense that it is without character
the event is a result of the relation of consciousness and non-consciousness
underlying the unified event is this relation -
and the relation just is the meeting of mind and matter
characterization of the event is the reflective function of consciousness
you could argue from this that mind and matter are fundamentally explanatory
categories - whose function is to provide a basis on which the event of experience - in
itself unknown - can be tackled - and for all intents and purposes - be made 'known'
anyway such is a very radical view of things and it is not one I am going to pursue
right now
back to Spinoza
I would put that the awareness of the affection - just is the idea of it
Spinoza wants to say that the mind perceives the idea of the affection
and this is to say the affection has an ideational dimension to it - quite regardless of
whether the event is known
ideas - are conceptions of mind - and every thing - every event is thus a conception -
as well as an extended thing
so on this view - the mind - perceives conceptions - outside of itself
ideas are as objective as stones
this is quite a radical view of things
what it means is that for Spinoza - there is one dimension - what you would call the
outside -
everything is objective
mind is not as I have represented it an internal dimension
there is no internality for Spinoza
I can understand why his theory demands this - but I find it quite bizarre
it amounts to saying there is no inner life
everything is revealed
mind / matter - it's all out there -
if you are to argue such a view you must accept that as a consequence the idea of
internality and externality - must be abandoned
if there is no internality - then there is no externality
if there is no inside there is no outside - no surface
so where are you going to place your ideas or your stones?
ideas of the affectations.
Demonstration. The ideas of the ideas of affections follow in God and are related to
God in the same way as the ideas themselves of affections. This is demonstrated like
Proposition XX, part II. But the ideas of the affections of the human body are in the
human mind (Proposition XII, part II) that is to say, in God (Proposition XI, part II,
Corollary), in so far as He constitutes the essence of the human mind; therefore, the
ideas of these ideas will be in God in so far as He has knowledge or idea of the human
mind; that is to say (Proposition 21, part II), they will be in the human mind itself,
which therefore, not only perceives the affections of the body, but also the idea of the
affections.'
the mind perceives the affections of the body but also the ideas of these affections
so a state of the body is perceived by the mind - which must mean the person is aware
of the state of the body
this awareness is an internalization of the surface event
on reflection the event has a double aspect - an internal and external dimension
a conscious - and as a matter of logic a non-conscious dimension
the experience of the affection though - is not divided -
the experience is unified
to say the event has an internal and external dimension is really to analyze it
and we do this in order to describe - so as to be able to understand it - and we have to
have some understanding of it in order to deal with it
prior to this analytical treatment the event - the unified event - is unknown
unknown in the sense that it is without character
the event is a result of the relation of consciousness and non-consciousness
underlying the unified event is this relation -
and the relation just is the meeting of mind and matter
characterization of the event is the reflective function of consciousness
you could argue from this that mind and matter are fundamentally explanatory
categories - whose function is to provide a basis on which the event of experience - in
itself unknown - can be tackled - and for all intents and purposes - be made 'known'
anyway such is a very radical view of things and it is not one I am going to pursue
right now
back to Spinoza
I would put that the awareness of the affection - just is the idea of it
Spinoza wants to say that the mind perceives the idea of the affection
and this is to say the affection has an ideational dimension to it - quite regardless of
whether the event is known
ideas - are conceptions of mind - and every thing - every event is thus a conception -
as well as an extended thing
so on this view - the mind - perceives conceptions - outside of itself
ideas are as objective as stones
this is quite a radical view of things
what it means is that for Spinoza - there is one dimension - what you would call the
outside -
everything is objective
mind is not as I have represented it an internal dimension
there is no internality for Spinoza
I can understand why his theory demands this - but I find it quite bizarre
it amounts to saying there is no inner life
everything is revealed
mind / matter - it's all out there -
if you are to argue such a view you must accept that as a consequence the idea of
internality and externality - must be abandoned
if there is no internality - then there is no externality
if there is no inside there is no outside - no surface
so where are you going to place your ideas or your stones?
9.3.08
Spinoza on mind V
my argument of the last post was that all we really get from Spinoza in relation to the
nature of mind is its assertion
back tracking it to God appears to give it some flesh - but it is a back tracking to the
unknown
the mind is idea - and Spinoza has precious little really to say about this
we know the object of the mind is the body
the mind is its idea -
and even though we have this tight fit of mind and body - there is from Spinoza no
sense of the internality of mind
in fact you could very well ask of Spinoza - where is it?
his answer is going to be that it is substance viewed under the attribute of thought
and his idea here is that substance or its modifications is just what is
and we can regard it as either thought or extension
in fact there is technically no difference - it is just a matter of how you read what is
before you
as to substance - independent of these attributes - substance in itself is infinite
this idea of substance I have argued in fact cannot be conceived - it is not a conception
- for a conception has form - infinity does not
so what we are actually talking about here is the unknown
Spinoza calls it God
mind though is an attribute of this God
that is it is a perceived essence
that is to say it is a conceived essence
so mind logically speaking pre-dates substance
for without mind there is no such conception
and this conception is interesting - it is supposed to go beyond - outside of the
conceiving mind - and yet include the conceiving mind
so the argument we have is that the mind in conceiving substance conceives itself -
and everything that it is not
this conception of itself is what?
the mind's identification of itself as an essence of substance
so at the very start mind conceives mind
that is for Spinoza self-consciousness is not a discovery
for mind to identify itself as an essence of substance
it must already have identified itself -
as - mind - what it is
OK -
so what does this amount to?
the idea that the beginning of any awareness is the awareness of self
- is self-consciousness -
the mind is aware of itself
when we think of awareness of that which is outside of mind - we think of a relation
of mind to object - or in Spinoza's terms idea to object
this occurs because the object of awareness is outside of mind
but what of the case when the object is inside - is mind
can we distinguish awareness and awareness of awareness?
can you be aware and not aware that you are aware?
I don't mean in practice - as in being absent minded - but I mean in principle?
I think not
it strikes me that the nature of awareness - of human awareness is that it - for want of
a better phrase - holds itself as object
this is to say there is no difference between awareness and self awareness
human consciousness is the awareness of awareness
so the mind is that which holds itself as subject and object
and the collapse of subject and object into a unity - just is awareness
and perhaps this awareness is not awareness of
it is just awareness
when we introduce object we are talking about something other than mind
so subjectivity is awareness without an object
Spinoza made this point
and thus it can only be awareness of the subject
perhaps the term to use is 'reflective' -
awareness is just reflecting on -
be it that which is internal - or that which is not - that which is external
in this case the object of awareness has no particular ontological status
it is just 'that'
and reflection can turn inward - or outward -
if it turns inward it is just the focus or the knowledge of awareness
of the fact of awareness
if outward it - it is the focus on the non-aware - that which it isn't
so awareness is the kind of thing that turns in on itself
we need a kind of meta-geometry here
it is a form - the internal is a form that can explore itself
and this distinguishes it from the external - the external is linear - it has no reflective
dimension
perhaps we can just say the mind conceives - and to conceive it must have a
conception of itself -
otherwise it has no concept of that which it is not - which is the primary object of
conception
and in that case it could not conceive
so on this view self-consciousness is a logically necessary condition for knowledge
if you have knowledge - you have self-consciousness
nature of mind is its assertion
back tracking it to God appears to give it some flesh - but it is a back tracking to the
unknown
the mind is idea - and Spinoza has precious little really to say about this
we know the object of the mind is the body
the mind is its idea -
and even though we have this tight fit of mind and body - there is from Spinoza no
sense of the internality of mind
in fact you could very well ask of Spinoza - where is it?
his answer is going to be that it is substance viewed under the attribute of thought
and his idea here is that substance or its modifications is just what is
and we can regard it as either thought or extension
in fact there is technically no difference - it is just a matter of how you read what is
before you
as to substance - independent of these attributes - substance in itself is infinite
this idea of substance I have argued in fact cannot be conceived - it is not a conception
- for a conception has form - infinity does not
so what we are actually talking about here is the unknown
Spinoza calls it God
mind though is an attribute of this God
that is it is a perceived essence
that is to say it is a conceived essence
so mind logically speaking pre-dates substance
for without mind there is no such conception
and this conception is interesting - it is supposed to go beyond - outside of the
conceiving mind - and yet include the conceiving mind
so the argument we have is that the mind in conceiving substance conceives itself -
and everything that it is not
this conception of itself is what?
the mind's identification of itself as an essence of substance
so at the very start mind conceives mind
that is for Spinoza self-consciousness is not a discovery
for mind to identify itself as an essence of substance
it must already have identified itself -
as - mind - what it is
OK -
so what does this amount to?
the idea that the beginning of any awareness is the awareness of self
- is self-consciousness -
the mind is aware of itself
when we think of awareness of that which is outside of mind - we think of a relation
of mind to object - or in Spinoza's terms idea to object
this occurs because the object of awareness is outside of mind
but what of the case when the object is inside - is mind
can we distinguish awareness and awareness of awareness?
can you be aware and not aware that you are aware?
I don't mean in practice - as in being absent minded - but I mean in principle?
I think not
it strikes me that the nature of awareness - of human awareness is that it - for want of
a better phrase - holds itself as object
this is to say there is no difference between awareness and self awareness
human consciousness is the awareness of awareness
so the mind is that which holds itself as subject and object
and the collapse of subject and object into a unity - just is awareness
and perhaps this awareness is not awareness of
it is just awareness
when we introduce object we are talking about something other than mind
so subjectivity is awareness without an object
Spinoza made this point
and thus it can only be awareness of the subject
perhaps the term to use is 'reflective' -
awareness is just reflecting on -
be it that which is internal - or that which is not - that which is external
in this case the object of awareness has no particular ontological status
it is just 'that'
and reflection can turn inward - or outward -
if it turns inward it is just the focus or the knowledge of awareness
of the fact of awareness
if outward it - it is the focus on the non-aware - that which it isn't
so awareness is the kind of thing that turns in on itself
we need a kind of meta-geometry here
it is a form - the internal is a form that can explore itself
and this distinguishes it from the external - the external is linear - it has no reflective
dimension
perhaps we can just say the mind conceives - and to conceive it must have a
conception of itself -
otherwise it has no concept of that which it is not - which is the primary object of
conception
and in that case it could not conceive
so on this view self-consciousness is a logically necessary condition for knowledge
if you have knowledge - you have self-consciousness
8.3.08
Spinoza on mind IV
my central question for Spinoza in relation to his account of the nature of mind is to
do with self-consciousness - what account does Spinoza give of self-consciousness?
to date his account of mind seems to simply be the act of conception -
that is the idea - and he defines it as mind
we can ask what is presupposed by idea - that is what is the ground for idea?
is there not in some sense a 'mind' behind the idea?
Spinoza defines mind initially as an attribute of substance - so it seems to have some
kind of substantial heritage -
that is it is not just an act - and as we have seen above his idea of the idea is that it is
active
the substance idea is that thought is an attribute of God or existence - and that
individual thoughts or thoughts of individuals are simply expressions of this attribute
God is infinite therefore the mind of God is the infinity of thought
perhaps too this means there is ultimately one idea and that idea is the idea of the
material world
but in so far as God is infinite - the idea is expressed infinitely
OK - the key point though is that for Spinoza mind is idea - the action of thought
what I find fascinating here is that on such a theory we can view mind as without
substance
that is there is just the act of thinking -
and there is nothing behind it - except the act of thinking
I don't think Spinoza sees it like this - but I do think his account can be legitimately
interpreted this way
especially when you understand - and this is definitely not Spinoza's understanding -
that his theory of substance fails - that what you really have - where he thinks there is
'substance' - is the unknown
the action of thought - of ideas - conceptions - in the unknown
rather elegant -
still there are questions -
what is this action - in what sense is it different from - distinguishable from external -
observable action?
I don't think Spinoza has an answer to this
he begins with the claim that thought is an attribute of substance - and proceeds as if
everything is now in place
that is the first premise is assumed
but the truth of it is we do not have a theory of mind from Spinoza
what we have is a juggling of terms - mind - thought - idea - conception etc.
I don't think Spinoza would have ever doubted the existence of mind
or for that matter anything -
in his own way he was very positive little fellow
if however we were to ask Spinoza - well what is this thing - the idea - or thought - or
mind - he would have to reflect
and what is this - reflection
what is it to reflect on the mind - what is happening when this occurs?
and this 'action' - is what we term 'self-consciousness'
mind reflecting on mind
what is the logic of this -
how can it be possible -
surely the object of mind is that which is outside of mind
how does mind - 'hold itself' as object?
can this actually happen - or is a mistaken analysis?
self-consciousness is not in doubt here - it is just how to explain it
the really complicating factor is that any explanation - any explanation at all - will be
an action of self-consciousness
self-consciousness - explaining self-consciousness
it's a bit like when the Victorian police had the job of policing themselves - you have
to wonder
it just occurred to me - the mind as an essentially corrupt entity -
perhaps some modern day post-deconstructionalist-nihilists might go for this
might make their day - put some hope into the nothingness
anyway enough with the laughs
proposition XXI might be a good place to get serious -
'P.XXI. This idea of the mind is united to the mind in the same way as the mind itself
is united to the body.
Demonstration. We have shown that the mind is united to the body because the body
is the object of the mind (Propositions XII and XIII, part II); therefore, by the same
reasoning, the idea of the mind must be united with its object, the mind itself, in the
same way as the mind itself is united to the body. Q.E.D.
Scholium. This proposition is to be understood much more clearly from what has been
said in the Scholium to Proposition VII, part II, for we have shown there that the idea
of the body and the body, that is to say (Proposition XIII, part II) the mind and the
body, are one in the same individual, which at one time is considered under the
attribute of thought, and another under the attribute of extension: the idea of the
mind, therefore and the mind itself are one and the same thing, which is considered
under one and the same attribute, that of thought. For, indeed, the idea of the mind,
that is to say, the idea of the idea, is nothing but the form of the idea in so far as it is
considered as a mode of thought and without relation to the object, just as a person
who knows anything, by the very fact that knows that he knows, and knows that he
knows that he knows, and so on ad infinitum. But more on this subject afterwards.'
PXXI. - on this view the mind is or can be the object of the mind in the same way as
the body is the mind's object
there is definitely an in here for the materialist
for if the body is the object of the mind and the object is material (extension) - then if
the mind can have the mind as object - the mind itself must be material
on the other hand - it might be argued there is an obvious problem here with the
notion of object -
what is it - is it body or is it mind
how could it be both - unless both are something else
the argument could well be that Spinoza's theory of mind collapses here
and it collapses because he cannot give a cogent account of self-consciousness
he can only speak of mind as a one dimensional thing
when it comes to explaining reflection - the idea of the mind somehow holding itself
as object
his notion of object is not up to it - it buckles under the weight - or you could say it
doesn't know whether its Arthur or Martha
OK - what can we do here?
the object as metaphysically stateless -
that is the object as being neither body or soul
as just what - a category -
but a category of what?
this is the question -
on such a view you would have to say - well we don't know -
we don't know what the object of the mind is
and it is really just a look over your shoulder to realize the mind has disappeared too
so what else can we do?
Spinoza's theory of mind has by and large hinged on the concept of idea
and as he presents it - this is where object comes in
the object of the idea is something other than the idea - it is outside the idea
but the idea is what we mean by 'mind'
his problem comes straight up - when he has to explain how an idea can have an idea
as an object
you can ask well such an idea is an idea of what - what is the content of this idea -
or is this just an idea - a special kind that has no content?
that is has no reference - outside itself?
if so what does it refer to?
in the scholium Spinoza says - 'For indeed, the idea of the mind, that is to say the idea
of the idea, is nothing but the form of the idea in so far as it is considered as a mode of
thought and without relation to the object........'
so at least it is clear that - the idea of the mind is the form of the idea - and it is
considered without relation to the object
this doesn't deal with this issue - even though it is quite an ingenious attempt
what this amounts to is that the idea can hold the form of the idea as its object -
in the sense of that which it is considering
so the notion here is 'form of the idea'
neat - but what is this 'form of the idea'?
the idea without content -
what other option is there?
the idea of the idea -
this is as I said a very impressive move on Spinoza's part
what is an idea - outside if its content
the form of the idea - OK
in what sense then can this be the object of an idea?
the idea holds the form of the idea as object
the idea holds its form as object
this holding - this action presupposes the idea or mind is self aware
that it can hold itself as object
that it knows itself - as form
so the holding of itself as form can only occur if we have self consciousness -
Spinoza argues it holds itself as form
OK - but there seems to be no question in his mind that the idea can hold itself -
it is just a question of - as what?
his answer is 'as form'
but he has not explained how the mind or the idea can hold itself - never mind as
what
that is the form argument presupposes self-consciousness - it doesn't explain or
account for it
Spinoza's argument of the idea of the idea is an account that presumes self-
consciousness -
so at the heart of Spinoza's theory of mind is an unexplained - and it is an unexplained
- crucial
the nature of self consciousness
if you cannot explain self-consciousness - you have no theory of mind
it seems clear to me that Spinoza never grappled with self-consciousness
he basically wanted thought to be of the same kind of thing as extension
self-consciousness destroys the symmetry
he recognizes it - and gives it a description - the description of form
but the description clever as it is doesn't really work
if you say mind is idea - and notion of idea makes sense only in terms of it having an
object and an object that is outside of itself
the idea cannot be outside itself - even if you want to call it form
so I think the approach of equating mind with idea does not prove very fruitful in the
problem of self-consciousness
certainly it hasn't helped Spinoza
of course this does presume that Spinoza is finally explaining reality - or attempting to
perhaps not
perhaps what we have form Spinoza is a description of what is
his 'argument' on self-consciousness is '...just as a person who knows anything, by the
very fact that he knows, and knows that he knows that he knows, and so on ad
infinitum....'
it is clear that what precedes this not an argument about the origin and nature of self-
consciousness - it is a description - a description in terms of ideas of ideas
Spinoza is not troubled by self-consciousness - he just wants to include it into his system
of thought - to find a place for it
do with self-consciousness - what account does Spinoza give of self-consciousness?
to date his account of mind seems to simply be the act of conception -
that is the idea - and he defines it as mind
we can ask what is presupposed by idea - that is what is the ground for idea?
is there not in some sense a 'mind' behind the idea?
Spinoza defines mind initially as an attribute of substance - so it seems to have some
kind of substantial heritage -
that is it is not just an act - and as we have seen above his idea of the idea is that it is
active
the substance idea is that thought is an attribute of God or existence - and that
individual thoughts or thoughts of individuals are simply expressions of this attribute
God is infinite therefore the mind of God is the infinity of thought
perhaps too this means there is ultimately one idea and that idea is the idea of the
material world
but in so far as God is infinite - the idea is expressed infinitely
OK - the key point though is that for Spinoza mind is idea - the action of thought
what I find fascinating here is that on such a theory we can view mind as without
substance
that is there is just the act of thinking -
and there is nothing behind it - except the act of thinking
I don't think Spinoza sees it like this - but I do think his account can be legitimately
interpreted this way
especially when you understand - and this is definitely not Spinoza's understanding -
that his theory of substance fails - that what you really have - where he thinks there is
'substance' - is the unknown
the action of thought - of ideas - conceptions - in the unknown
rather elegant -
still there are questions -
what is this action - in what sense is it different from - distinguishable from external -
observable action?
I don't think Spinoza has an answer to this
he begins with the claim that thought is an attribute of substance - and proceeds as if
everything is now in place
that is the first premise is assumed
but the truth of it is we do not have a theory of mind from Spinoza
what we have is a juggling of terms - mind - thought - idea - conception etc.
I don't think Spinoza would have ever doubted the existence of mind
or for that matter anything -
in his own way he was very positive little fellow
if however we were to ask Spinoza - well what is this thing - the idea - or thought - or
mind - he would have to reflect
and what is this - reflection
what is it to reflect on the mind - what is happening when this occurs?
and this 'action' - is what we term 'self-consciousness'
mind reflecting on mind
what is the logic of this -
how can it be possible -
surely the object of mind is that which is outside of mind
how does mind - 'hold itself' as object?
can this actually happen - or is a mistaken analysis?
self-consciousness is not in doubt here - it is just how to explain it
the really complicating factor is that any explanation - any explanation at all - will be
an action of self-consciousness
self-consciousness - explaining self-consciousness
it's a bit like when the Victorian police had the job of policing themselves - you have
to wonder
it just occurred to me - the mind as an essentially corrupt entity -
perhaps some modern day post-deconstructionalist-nihilists might go for this
might make their day - put some hope into the nothingness
anyway enough with the laughs
proposition XXI might be a good place to get serious -
'P.XXI. This idea of the mind is united to the mind in the same way as the mind itself
is united to the body.
Demonstration. We have shown that the mind is united to the body because the body
is the object of the mind (Propositions XII and XIII, part II); therefore, by the same
reasoning, the idea of the mind must be united with its object, the mind itself, in the
same way as the mind itself is united to the body. Q.E.D.
Scholium. This proposition is to be understood much more clearly from what has been
said in the Scholium to Proposition VII, part II, for we have shown there that the idea
of the body and the body, that is to say (Proposition XIII, part II) the mind and the
body, are one in the same individual, which at one time is considered under the
attribute of thought, and another under the attribute of extension: the idea of the
mind, therefore and the mind itself are one and the same thing, which is considered
under one and the same attribute, that of thought. For, indeed, the idea of the mind,
that is to say, the idea of the idea, is nothing but the form of the idea in so far as it is
considered as a mode of thought and without relation to the object, just as a person
who knows anything, by the very fact that knows that he knows, and knows that he
knows that he knows, and so on ad infinitum. But more on this subject afterwards.'
PXXI. - on this view the mind is or can be the object of the mind in the same way as
the body is the mind's object
there is definitely an in here for the materialist
for if the body is the object of the mind and the object is material (extension) - then if
the mind can have the mind as object - the mind itself must be material
on the other hand - it might be argued there is an obvious problem here with the
notion of object -
what is it - is it body or is it mind
how could it be both - unless both are something else
the argument could well be that Spinoza's theory of mind collapses here
and it collapses because he cannot give a cogent account of self-consciousness
he can only speak of mind as a one dimensional thing
when it comes to explaining reflection - the idea of the mind somehow holding itself
as object
his notion of object is not up to it - it buckles under the weight - or you could say it
doesn't know whether its Arthur or Martha
OK - what can we do here?
the object as metaphysically stateless -
that is the object as being neither body or soul
as just what - a category -
but a category of what?
this is the question -
on such a view you would have to say - well we don't know -
we don't know what the object of the mind is
and it is really just a look over your shoulder to realize the mind has disappeared too
so what else can we do?
Spinoza's theory of mind has by and large hinged on the concept of idea
and as he presents it - this is where object comes in
the object of the idea is something other than the idea - it is outside the idea
but the idea is what we mean by 'mind'
his problem comes straight up - when he has to explain how an idea can have an idea
as an object
you can ask well such an idea is an idea of what - what is the content of this idea -
or is this just an idea - a special kind that has no content?
that is has no reference - outside itself?
if so what does it refer to?
in the scholium Spinoza says - 'For indeed, the idea of the mind, that is to say the idea
of the idea, is nothing but the form of the idea in so far as it is considered as a mode of
thought and without relation to the object........'
so at least it is clear that - the idea of the mind is the form of the idea - and it is
considered without relation to the object
this doesn't deal with this issue - even though it is quite an ingenious attempt
what this amounts to is that the idea can hold the form of the idea as its object -
in the sense of that which it is considering
so the notion here is 'form of the idea'
neat - but what is this 'form of the idea'?
the idea without content -
what other option is there?
the idea of the idea -
this is as I said a very impressive move on Spinoza's part
what is an idea - outside if its content
the form of the idea - OK
in what sense then can this be the object of an idea?
the idea holds the form of the idea as object
the idea holds its form as object
this holding - this action presupposes the idea or mind is self aware
that it can hold itself as object
that it knows itself - as form
so the holding of itself as form can only occur if we have self consciousness -
Spinoza argues it holds itself as form
OK - but there seems to be no question in his mind that the idea can hold itself -
it is just a question of - as what?
his answer is 'as form'
but he has not explained how the mind or the idea can hold itself - never mind as
what
that is the form argument presupposes self-consciousness - it doesn't explain or
account for it
Spinoza's argument of the idea of the idea is an account that presumes self-
consciousness -
so at the heart of Spinoza's theory of mind is an unexplained - and it is an unexplained
- crucial
the nature of self consciousness
if you cannot explain self-consciousness - you have no theory of mind
it seems clear to me that Spinoza never grappled with self-consciousness
he basically wanted thought to be of the same kind of thing as extension
self-consciousness destroys the symmetry
he recognizes it - and gives it a description - the description of form
but the description clever as it is doesn't really work
if you say mind is idea - and notion of idea makes sense only in terms of it having an
object and an object that is outside of itself
the idea cannot be outside itself - even if you want to call it form
so I think the approach of equating mind with idea does not prove very fruitful in the
problem of self-consciousness
certainly it hasn't helped Spinoza
of course this does presume that Spinoza is finally explaining reality - or attempting to
perhaps not
perhaps what we have form Spinoza is a description of what is
his 'argument' on self-consciousness is '...just as a person who knows anything, by the
very fact that he knows, and knows that he knows that he knows, and so on ad
infinitum....'
it is clear that what precedes this not an argument about the origin and nature of self-
consciousness - it is a description - a description in terms of ideas of ideas
Spinoza is not troubled by self-consciousness - he just wants to include it into his system
of thought - to find a place for it
Spinoza on mind III
P. VII. The order and connection of ideas is the same as the order and connection of
things.
the argument in general is that there is an underlying unifying logic of all existing
forms
in Spinozistic terms - the logic of substance is manifested in the logic of attributes
which is to say the essential logic of mind is the essential logic of extension
we have from Spinoza the assertion of metaphysical unity
the basis of his argument is his definition of substance -
E.I.D.III. 'I understand SUBSTANCE (substantia) to be that which is in itself and is
conceived through itself; I mean that, the conception of which does not depend on
the conception of another thing from which it must be formed.'
that which is in itself and conceived through itself -
that which is in itself we can understand as that which is not in anything else
therefore it is that in which everything else is in -
so what do we say here - existence?
substance is existence as such
OK - now conceived through itself -
a conception in the normal use is a conception of -
that is there is an object of conception -
on such a view that which is conceived is other than the conceiving
so existence as such as an object is conceived by - what?
a subject
the subject cannot by definition be outside of existence - yes
but is this to say existence conceives itself?
I think not -
clearly a conception is in existence -
what of the idea of existence in itself -
this is to say everything is the subject of this conception
but can this be?
can the conception itself be - both be a conception separate from its object - and inside
its object
can we hold the concept of - as of the object being conceived?
in simple terms - the conception if it is an object - is not a conception - it is that which
is conceived
so if conception is of the object - there is no conception in the sense of that which is
apart from the object
in such a view - yes you have unity - all that is - is the object
but there is no possibility of knowing this - there is no possibility of knowledge
therefore if substance conceives itself - there is no conception
so - we can't actually speak of substance conceiving itself - such is a misuse of terms
if this is what is being argued then there is no knowledge
another point to make is this -
a concept is a concept of -
a concept of something
and a something is that which it is not
that is it has definition
it is particular -
so the question must be asked - how can the idea of substance as Spinoza defines it
- as that which has no restriction - as that which is not something that it is not -
actually be formed?
my point is that there is no such concept
because no such concept can be formed
we can say the world is 'x' and '-x'
that is the world is an entity and all that the entity is not
the point is we can only make such a statement in the form of a conjunction
a conjunction based on a particularity - 'x'
the '-x' even if you are to say it refers - to all that 'x' is not - still is not the totality -
is not the idea of substance argued by Spinoza
the idea of unrestricted totality is a logical mistake
Spinoza's idea of substance is a logical mistake - it is a misuse of the notion of
conception
I began this discussion of substance to get to the idea of unifying logic that is
manifested in thought and extension - for this I suggest is the idea behind P.VII. that
the order and connection of ideas is the same as the order and connection of things
my argument is that Spinoza's idea of substance does not provide a basis for arguing
that there is an underlying essential or existential unity
and the reason for it is that the notion of substance cannot be established in the first
place
so what of any holistic account?
the argument is clear - there is no conceptual basis for it
so just at this point we can say we must dismiss the proposal of P.VII - for it is a
species of the holistic argument - that we can conceive a totality or a complete picture
- or in this case a universal order?
the world impacts the body and this impact is internalized in the mind
that there is external impact is clear
therefore we can say the impact itself is the external internalized
the event of impact has an external and internal dimension
the event itself is the unity of these dimensions
but what sense can we make of the event itself?
in itself - it is unknown
and further it is only known via it's internalization
so the idea of it is all that is known-
can we go from here to speak of the event as it were outside of its internalization
we would need to if we were to speak of an order and connection that is outside of
thought
the point is we can't
but at the same time - because we can't we are always in a position of uncertainty
we may assume that how we are affected provides a true picture of the world outside of
our knowledge - outside of mind
but we have no way at all of being sure of this
we can for practical purposes proceed as if - and indeed we do all the time -
but this is pragmatics - not objective knowledge
some think this is where you sink into blissful solipsism
but that is not the case at all
as a matter of logic we know the external world exists
it is that which is not our internality
that which is not mind
and we understand as a matter of logic that the internal is affected by the external -
but we have no objective view of the relation - we cannot step outside of it and see it
for what it is
we are this relation
we can only operate with what it provides
and what it provides is an a two-dimensional world
and knowledge is just the arguments we make in relation to this world
there is no guarantee to these argument
they spring from necessity -
but are incurably contingent
the essence of our knowledge is uncertainty
we have no way of establishing in an objective sense if there is any order or lack of it
in this reality
we simply do not know
the other point to make is that the body is not the world
and that the clearest impressions the mind has - is of the body
things exist independently of the mind in the outside world
we can only know of these things via the body
their existence - their logic as things in themselves - is not anything we have access to
- if indeed it makes any sense to speak of them in such a manner
things.
the argument in general is that there is an underlying unifying logic of all existing
forms
in Spinozistic terms - the logic of substance is manifested in the logic of attributes
which is to say the essential logic of mind is the essential logic of extension
we have from Spinoza the assertion of metaphysical unity
the basis of his argument is his definition of substance -
E.I.D.III. 'I understand SUBSTANCE (substantia) to be that which is in itself and is
conceived through itself; I mean that, the conception of which does not depend on
the conception of another thing from which it must be formed.'
that which is in itself and conceived through itself -
that which is in itself we can understand as that which is not in anything else
therefore it is that in which everything else is in -
so what do we say here - existence?
substance is existence as such
OK - now conceived through itself -
a conception in the normal use is a conception of -
that is there is an object of conception -
on such a view that which is conceived is other than the conceiving
so existence as such as an object is conceived by - what?
a subject
the subject cannot by definition be outside of existence - yes
but is this to say existence conceives itself?
I think not -
clearly a conception is in existence -
what of the idea of existence in itself -
this is to say everything is the subject of this conception
but can this be?
can the conception itself be - both be a conception separate from its object - and inside
its object
can we hold the concept of - as of the object being conceived?
in simple terms - the conception if it is an object - is not a conception - it is that which
is conceived
so if conception is of the object - there is no conception in the sense of that which is
apart from the object
in such a view - yes you have unity - all that is - is the object
but there is no possibility of knowing this - there is no possibility of knowledge
therefore if substance conceives itself - there is no conception
so - we can't actually speak of substance conceiving itself - such is a misuse of terms
if this is what is being argued then there is no knowledge
another point to make is this -
a concept is a concept of -
a concept of something
and a something is that which it is not
that is it has definition
it is particular -
so the question must be asked - how can the idea of substance as Spinoza defines it
- as that which has no restriction - as that which is not something that it is not -
actually be formed?
my point is that there is no such concept
because no such concept can be formed
we can say the world is 'x' and '-x'
that is the world is an entity and all that the entity is not
the point is we can only make such a statement in the form of a conjunction
a conjunction based on a particularity - 'x'
the '-x' even if you are to say it refers - to all that 'x' is not - still is not the totality -
is not the idea of substance argued by Spinoza
the idea of unrestricted totality is a logical mistake
Spinoza's idea of substance is a logical mistake - it is a misuse of the notion of
conception
I began this discussion of substance to get to the idea of unifying logic that is
manifested in thought and extension - for this I suggest is the idea behind P.VII. that
the order and connection of ideas is the same as the order and connection of things
my argument is that Spinoza's idea of substance does not provide a basis for arguing
that there is an underlying essential or existential unity
and the reason for it is that the notion of substance cannot be established in the first
place
so what of any holistic account?
the argument is clear - there is no conceptual basis for it
so just at this point we can say we must dismiss the proposal of P.VII - for it is a
species of the holistic argument - that we can conceive a totality or a complete picture
- or in this case a universal order?
the world impacts the body and this impact is internalized in the mind
that there is external impact is clear
therefore we can say the impact itself is the external internalized
the event of impact has an external and internal dimension
the event itself is the unity of these dimensions
but what sense can we make of the event itself?
in itself - it is unknown
and further it is only known via it's internalization
so the idea of it is all that is known-
can we go from here to speak of the event as it were outside of its internalization
we would need to if we were to speak of an order and connection that is outside of
thought
the point is we can't
but at the same time - because we can't we are always in a position of uncertainty
we may assume that how we are affected provides a true picture of the world outside of
our knowledge - outside of mind
but we have no way at all of being sure of this
we can for practical purposes proceed as if - and indeed we do all the time -
but this is pragmatics - not objective knowledge
some think this is where you sink into blissful solipsism
but that is not the case at all
as a matter of logic we know the external world exists
it is that which is not our internality
that which is not mind
and we understand as a matter of logic that the internal is affected by the external -
but we have no objective view of the relation - we cannot step outside of it and see it
for what it is
we are this relation
we can only operate with what it provides
and what it provides is an a two-dimensional world
and knowledge is just the arguments we make in relation to this world
there is no guarantee to these argument
they spring from necessity -
but are incurably contingent
the essence of our knowledge is uncertainty
we have no way of establishing in an objective sense if there is any order or lack of it
in this reality
we simply do not know
the other point to make is that the body is not the world
and that the clearest impressions the mind has - is of the body
things exist independently of the mind in the outside world
we can only know of these things via the body
their existence - their logic as things in themselves - is not anything we have access to
- if indeed it makes any sense to speak of them in such a manner
Spinoza on mind II
an attribute is a perceived essence of substance
how do we distinguish attributes?
thought is an attribute of God (P.1) - extension is an attribute of God (P.2)
as I have argued Spinoza's argument for the nature of attributes presupposes mind
that is his argument for attributes presupposes one of the attributes
you could well argue from this that the idea of attributes crashes - given this
circularity
and with that of course the idea of substance - at least in the terms that Spinoza puts it
so we are in the position where mind perceives itself - as an attribute -
in what sense can we then say the mind percieves - the body?
in what sense can the body or extension - be anything other than an aspect of mind?
if there is no answer to this question we are condemned to idealism and the argument
stops
what I think Spinoza missed is that mind in perceiving itself percieves itself as
internal
as inside extension
certainly the mind does not see itself as outside - as a feature of the extented world
so mind is seen as an internal form
the fact of this is important
for the conception of internality can only be maintained given externality
the internal only has any sense given its logical opposite - the external
and this logic is not contraversial -
our natural conception is that the mind is internal and that the external world is not
mind - whatever else it is
and what we describe it as - is matter - the physical world
this distinction of mind and matter is based firstly on the truth of self-consciousness
consciousness perceiving / conceiving itself
this conception of mind places mind inside the physical world
if so then the distinction between attributes that Spinoza needs to establish is a
distinction between internal and external attributes
the internal / external distinction gives the idea of attributes in this context some body
internality - in its self-awareness - recognizes its opposite - the external
the distinction I would say is finally based on logic
so indeed what we have is a conception - and the idea of its opposite
do we leave the internal in putting the external?
yes if we see this as a matter of logic - for the opposite of internality on this argument
- is the external - and this is to say that as a matter of logic the external by its nature
cannot be internal
that which the mind posits as being outside of itself cannot be itself
there is no sign in Spinoza of the internal / external argument
mind and matter are attributes - on his view this is enough
it is that reality has two percieved essences mind and extension - this is where he
begins
it is a clear starting point - but again this is all it is - there is no cogent argument as
to what the mind perceives as the difference between the attributes
if the argument is not about substance - but rather perception - intellectual perception -
we can rightly ask what is intellectually apprehended in the perception of essences
in D. II. we have -
'I say that to the essence of anything pertains that, which being given, the thing is
necessarily posited, and being taken away, the thing is necessarily taken; or, in other
words, that without which the thing can neither be nor be conceived, and in its turn
cannot be nor concieved without the thing'
as a definition of essence this is OK - but this 'thing' - that is essence - is left
undefined
now you can be mystical here or simply accept the fact that the logic of this argument
points to - results in skepticism
that the essence - if such exists or makes sense is unknown
these are the only two options open to Spinoza
and the first collapses into the second - so skepticism is unavoidable
so apprehending essences does not help us in identifying or distinguishing mind and
matter
by the way substance on this view is nothing more than the unknown writ large
how though do we approach the mind / matter issue if intellectual perception of
essences doesn't work?
my argument is a non-substance argument - a non-substantial argument
it is that mind and matter are dimensions of a single unknown reality
and as such mind and matter are in any essential sense - unknown
what we have though is the logic of internality and externality
it is to use a classical distinction - an argument of form - not substance
mind or consciousness is internality - matter or the physical world is externality
this is to describe reality in terms of its dimenssions - internal / external
and I should point out here that it doesn't follow from this that all reality is two dimensional
it is clear that two dimensional reality is in a quantitative sense - exceptional
as to why this is the case - is not the issue - it is simply how the matter stands
Spinoza does attempt to define mind in terms of action
he distinguishes active and passive modes of being -
and determines the idea as a conception and a conception as active as distinct from
passive in nature
we can ask though - how is the action of mind on Spinozas's view different in any way
to the action of the body - or of extension?
if action is the essence of conception is it also the essence of the non-conceptual?
it is clear that the idea of action is more of a unifying than distinguishing notion
an action is an action
and yes we can place it differently - we can refer to internal action and external action
the nature of the action as action is not distinguishable - only the place or the
dimension of the action
in proposition 1. of the second part of the Ethics - Spinoza puts that thought is an
attribute of God - or God is a thinking thing
the idea of the idea - as a conception as an action is essentially the same argument for
the nature of man - A.II. - man thinks
man thinks - thought is an attribute of God
presumably we can say therefore God thinks
how then is the idea of God or substance to be distinguished from that of man?
on the basis of thought - there is no distinction
a thinking thing conceives be it man or God
the action of thought does not distinguish man and God
as we have seen thought is a perceived essence of substance - or God
but mind must be presumed for this argument to go forth
therefore mind perceives itself as an essence of God
which means God is a conception of the mind's conception of itself
it is a secoindary or defining conception
the mind perceives itself - and this perception is a perception of the unknown
that is the mind perceives itself as unknown
this state of affairs cannot be left to stand
the world we live in - we operate in is a world of action -
the mind needs to characterize in order to create the pretense of knowlege - a pretense
necessary for rational - that is effective action
Spinoza's characterization is God
in general you can say - well anything will do here - so long as action is made possible
why not God?
the point is 'God' as put by Spinoza is a useless conception -
and the reason for this is that it distinguishes nothing
in fact you have to say right at the get go - it is not a valid concept
just simply becasuse it has no limits - and therefore no content
what Spinoza has done is what I think the ancient Jewish prophets did - give the
unknown a name
how do we distinguish attributes?
thought is an attribute of God (P.1) - extension is an attribute of God (P.2)
as I have argued Spinoza's argument for the nature of attributes presupposes mind
that is his argument for attributes presupposes one of the attributes
you could well argue from this that the idea of attributes crashes - given this
circularity
and with that of course the idea of substance - at least in the terms that Spinoza puts it
so we are in the position where mind perceives itself - as an attribute -
in what sense can we then say the mind percieves - the body?
in what sense can the body or extension - be anything other than an aspect of mind?
if there is no answer to this question we are condemned to idealism and the argument
stops
what I think Spinoza missed is that mind in perceiving itself percieves itself as
internal
as inside extension
certainly the mind does not see itself as outside - as a feature of the extented world
so mind is seen as an internal form
the fact of this is important
for the conception of internality can only be maintained given externality
the internal only has any sense given its logical opposite - the external
and this logic is not contraversial -
our natural conception is that the mind is internal and that the external world is not
mind - whatever else it is
and what we describe it as - is matter - the physical world
this distinction of mind and matter is based firstly on the truth of self-consciousness
consciousness perceiving / conceiving itself
this conception of mind places mind inside the physical world
if so then the distinction between attributes that Spinoza needs to establish is a
distinction between internal and external attributes
the internal / external distinction gives the idea of attributes in this context some body
internality - in its self-awareness - recognizes its opposite - the external
the distinction I would say is finally based on logic
so indeed what we have is a conception - and the idea of its opposite
do we leave the internal in putting the external?
yes if we see this as a matter of logic - for the opposite of internality on this argument
- is the external - and this is to say that as a matter of logic the external by its nature
cannot be internal
that which the mind posits as being outside of itself cannot be itself
there is no sign in Spinoza of the internal / external argument
mind and matter are attributes - on his view this is enough
it is that reality has two percieved essences mind and extension - this is where he
begins
it is a clear starting point - but again this is all it is - there is no cogent argument as
to what the mind perceives as the difference between the attributes
if the argument is not about substance - but rather perception - intellectual perception -
we can rightly ask what is intellectually apprehended in the perception of essences
in D. II. we have -
'I say that to the essence of anything pertains that, which being given, the thing is
necessarily posited, and being taken away, the thing is necessarily taken; or, in other
words, that without which the thing can neither be nor be conceived, and in its turn
cannot be nor concieved without the thing'
as a definition of essence this is OK - but this 'thing' - that is essence - is left
undefined
now you can be mystical here or simply accept the fact that the logic of this argument
points to - results in skepticism
that the essence - if such exists or makes sense is unknown
these are the only two options open to Spinoza
and the first collapses into the second - so skepticism is unavoidable
so apprehending essences does not help us in identifying or distinguishing mind and
matter
by the way substance on this view is nothing more than the unknown writ large
how though do we approach the mind / matter issue if intellectual perception of
essences doesn't work?
my argument is a non-substance argument - a non-substantial argument
it is that mind and matter are dimensions of a single unknown reality
and as such mind and matter are in any essential sense - unknown
what we have though is the logic of internality and externality
it is to use a classical distinction - an argument of form - not substance
mind or consciousness is internality - matter or the physical world is externality
this is to describe reality in terms of its dimenssions - internal / external
and I should point out here that it doesn't follow from this that all reality is two dimensional
it is clear that two dimensional reality is in a quantitative sense - exceptional
as to why this is the case - is not the issue - it is simply how the matter stands
Spinoza does attempt to define mind in terms of action
he distinguishes active and passive modes of being -
and determines the idea as a conception and a conception as active as distinct from
passive in nature
we can ask though - how is the action of mind on Spinozas's view different in any way
to the action of the body - or of extension?
if action is the essence of conception is it also the essence of the non-conceptual?
it is clear that the idea of action is more of a unifying than distinguishing notion
an action is an action
and yes we can place it differently - we can refer to internal action and external action
the nature of the action as action is not distinguishable - only the place or the
dimension of the action
in proposition 1. of the second part of the Ethics - Spinoza puts that thought is an
attribute of God - or God is a thinking thing
the idea of the idea - as a conception as an action is essentially the same argument for
the nature of man - A.II. - man thinks
man thinks - thought is an attribute of God
presumably we can say therefore God thinks
how then is the idea of God or substance to be distinguished from that of man?
on the basis of thought - there is no distinction
a thinking thing conceives be it man or God
the action of thought does not distinguish man and God
as we have seen thought is a perceived essence of substance - or God
but mind must be presumed for this argument to go forth
therefore mind perceives itself as an essence of God
which means God is a conception of the mind's conception of itself
it is a secoindary or defining conception
the mind perceives itself - and this perception is a perception of the unknown
that is the mind perceives itself as unknown
this state of affairs cannot be left to stand
the world we live in - we operate in is a world of action -
the mind needs to characterize in order to create the pretense of knowlege - a pretense
necessary for rational - that is effective action
Spinoza's characterization is God
in general you can say - well anything will do here - so long as action is made possible
why not God?
the point is 'God' as put by Spinoza is a useless conception -
and the reason for this is that it distinguishes nothing
in fact you have to say right at the get go - it is not a valid concept
just simply becasuse it has no limits - and therefore no content
what Spinoza has done is what I think the ancient Jewish prophets did - give the
unknown a name
Spinoza on mind
Concerning the nature and origin of the mind
(Ethics: second part)
D.III. idea - a conception of the mind
conception an action of the mind
A. II. - man thinks
A. III. - modes of thinking - such as love or desire - or any other name by which the
emotions of the mind may be designated - are not granted unless an idea in the same
individual is granted of the thing loved desired etc.
a mode is determined by an idea -
for a mode to exist - the idea must be in the individual who i.e. loves or desires
the idea is thus the necessary condition of the mode
A.V. we only perceive or feel bodies or modes of thinking
so it seems on this view ideas are not perceived or felt - what is perceived or felt are
(bodies and) modes of thinking
the idea determines the mode - but the idea is not felt or perceived
so if it is not felt or perceived - what is the idea?
it can only be an explanation of that which is felt or perceived - in this case the mode
of thinking
so the idea - for Spinoza is really an argument about the basis of the ground of modes
of thought - or simply thought
this doesn't sound too bad except that we have no idea on this view what an idea is
except that it is necessary to a mode - and this tells us literally nothing
we are no better informed about the nature of thinking through the introduction of
'idea' than we were before it was introduced
it is in this sense an empty concept
a mode (E. I. D.V) is that which is in something through which it can be understood
so a mode of thought is that which is in thought through which it can be understood -
it is thus a defining of thought - a characterization of thought - i.e. as love or as desire
etc.
first up can we define thought? - we speak of ways of thinking yes - but what is this?
isn't it just that we conceptualize behaviour and categorize it in an ideal fashion - i.e.
in terms of 'thought' - rather than in terms of action?
that is it presents action in a logical format - an ideational format
and in this sense it is really just to internalize the external - or present it in an internal
format -
so we conceptualize - and then refer to this conceptualization as 'thought' - that is give
it an object-like rendering
what I am saying here is that we make thought out of our conceptualizations - in a
crude sense we make a name -
and you might say - alright - something is going on in conceptualization that is different
to externally observable behaviour - so why not call it 'thought' or thinking etc.?
OK - so what is happening here is that in conceptualizing we define conceptualizing -
and out of this comes such notions as thought
but it is clear that the action of so defining occurs because we need to define
what we are presented with in conceptualizing without this definition of
conceptualizing is quite simply unknown
the act of defining gives us a basis on which to operate in a ideal or ideational form
so what we have really with this argument from Spinoza is just the adoption of the
conclusions of such a process
Spinoza begins at the end -
he does not seem to see that outside of the action of thought - there is no thought
thought is its act
and as such in the first instance - that is in its act - it is unknown
the act of thinking about thought - that is reflective thinking - is the act of
characterization
this action of characterization though is just the necessary response to the unknown
necessary in the sense of enabling action
and this is purely a contingent necessity
so all that comes from this has strictly speaking only ephemeral status - it just enables us
to get going - to act
therefore - any characterization of conceptualization - is as valid as any other
logic is just this possibility
in D.III. Spinoza says :
'By idea I understand a conception of the mind which the mind forms because it is a
thinking thing.
Explanation. I use the word conception rather than perception because the name
perception seems to indicate that the mind is passive in its relation to the object. But
the word conception seems to express the action of the mind.'
an idea is a conception - a conception an action of a thinking thing
can we say therefore the mind is the act of conception?
yes I think so - but it leaves unanswered the question - what is conception?
Spinoza will say the action of the mind
but this is a circular argument - it doesn't help -
what is the mind for Spinoza?
the answer he gives is in Proposition 1. -
'Thought is an attribute of God or God is a thinking thing'
and for attribute we must go back to E.I.D.4. -
'By attribute, I understand that which the intellect perceives of substance, as if
constituting its essence.'
the problem here is that in order to define attribute we have to presuppose mind - and
yet the very reason we looked to the question of attribute was to understand or define
mind
so it comes out like this - an attribute is a perceived essence of substance -
that is simply a description of the essence of substance by the mind
and here is the kicker -
one of the descriptions of the essence of substance (by the mind) is thought
and thought we know is an action of the mind
so - the mind conceives itself as an attribute of substance
so we have here a conception of mind by mind - as what?
the obvious answer here would be mind
in fact I wonder how this could be avoided
if the mind conceives itself as an attribute and an attribute is a conception of the mind
all you can say is the mind primarily conceives itself -
and therefore the idea of substance - or the idea of an attribute of substance - has to be
a further or secondary description that the mind gives itself
on this view substance or God is a conception of mind - and a description of mind
at this point we are clearly very tightly locked into Idealism
but we can take this a little further by asking - when mind conceives itself - what is it
conceiving?
we have already been told that conception is an action -
and in a straightforward sense this sounds good -
but now we are dealing with the idea of the mind conceiving itself
and we have to ask can the idea of conception as action hold up in this context?
that is can we say an act acts on an act - and the result is the mind conceiving itself?
the issue is really what is called self-consciousness
the idea that the mind conceives or is aware of itself
is this awareness an action?
yes - we might say
but will we here also say it is action on action
or is it rather that awareness is a unique kind of action?
if so - what can we say here?
we must remember that any thing we say here is an act of awareness itself
- which makes me think that awareness is just a phenomena that cannot be accounted
for
that it is essentially and necessarily - unknown
and that this is its defining characteristic
in any case Spinoza's notions of attribute and substance - cannot be used to explain his
idea of mind
for it is his very idea of mind out of which these notions take life
and I think this is pretty clear and uncontraversial - just from his definitions
strictly speaking - Spinoza - you could well argue leaves mind undefined -
and that even his minimal description of mind as the action of thought - tells us
nothing really
the question is - is this a good result or not?
from my point of view it is good -
but I don't think this is the conclusion Spinoza wanted to achieve or believed he had
achieved
(Ethics: second part)
D.III. idea - a conception of the mind
conception an action of the mind
A. II. - man thinks
A. III. - modes of thinking - such as love or desire - or any other name by which the
emotions of the mind may be designated - are not granted unless an idea in the same
individual is granted of the thing loved desired etc.
a mode is determined by an idea -
for a mode to exist - the idea must be in the individual who i.e. loves or desires
the idea is thus the necessary condition of the mode
A.V. we only perceive or feel bodies or modes of thinking
so it seems on this view ideas are not perceived or felt - what is perceived or felt are
(bodies and) modes of thinking
the idea determines the mode - but the idea is not felt or perceived
so if it is not felt or perceived - what is the idea?
it can only be an explanation of that which is felt or perceived - in this case the mode
of thinking
so the idea - for Spinoza is really an argument about the basis of the ground of modes
of thought - or simply thought
this doesn't sound too bad except that we have no idea on this view what an idea is
except that it is necessary to a mode - and this tells us literally nothing
we are no better informed about the nature of thinking through the introduction of
'idea' than we were before it was introduced
it is in this sense an empty concept
a mode (E. I. D.V) is that which is in something through which it can be understood
so a mode of thought is that which is in thought through which it can be understood -
it is thus a defining of thought - a characterization of thought - i.e. as love or as desire
etc.
first up can we define thought? - we speak of ways of thinking yes - but what is this?
isn't it just that we conceptualize behaviour and categorize it in an ideal fashion - i.e.
in terms of 'thought' - rather than in terms of action?
that is it presents action in a logical format - an ideational format
and in this sense it is really just to internalize the external - or present it in an internal
format -
so we conceptualize - and then refer to this conceptualization as 'thought' - that is give
it an object-like rendering
what I am saying here is that we make thought out of our conceptualizations - in a
crude sense we make a name -
and you might say - alright - something is going on in conceptualization that is different
to externally observable behaviour - so why not call it 'thought' or thinking etc.?
OK - so what is happening here is that in conceptualizing we define conceptualizing -
and out of this comes such notions as thought
but it is clear that the action of so defining occurs because we need to define
what we are presented with in conceptualizing without this definition of
conceptualizing is quite simply unknown
the act of defining gives us a basis on which to operate in a ideal or ideational form
so what we have really with this argument from Spinoza is just the adoption of the
conclusions of such a process
Spinoza begins at the end -
he does not seem to see that outside of the action of thought - there is no thought
thought is its act
and as such in the first instance - that is in its act - it is unknown
the act of thinking about thought - that is reflective thinking - is the act of
characterization
this action of characterization though is just the necessary response to the unknown
necessary in the sense of enabling action
and this is purely a contingent necessity
so all that comes from this has strictly speaking only ephemeral status - it just enables us
to get going - to act
therefore - any characterization of conceptualization - is as valid as any other
logic is just this possibility
in D.III. Spinoza says :
'By idea I understand a conception of the mind which the mind forms because it is a
thinking thing.
Explanation. I use the word conception rather than perception because the name
perception seems to indicate that the mind is passive in its relation to the object. But
the word conception seems to express the action of the mind.'
an idea is a conception - a conception an action of a thinking thing
can we say therefore the mind is the act of conception?
yes I think so - but it leaves unanswered the question - what is conception?
Spinoza will say the action of the mind
but this is a circular argument - it doesn't help -
what is the mind for Spinoza?
the answer he gives is in Proposition 1. -
'Thought is an attribute of God or God is a thinking thing'
and for attribute we must go back to E.I.D.4. -
'By attribute, I understand that which the intellect perceives of substance, as if
constituting its essence.'
the problem here is that in order to define attribute we have to presuppose mind - and
yet the very reason we looked to the question of attribute was to understand or define
mind
so it comes out like this - an attribute is a perceived essence of substance -
that is simply a description of the essence of substance by the mind
and here is the kicker -
one of the descriptions of the essence of substance (by the mind) is thought
and thought we know is an action of the mind
so - the mind conceives itself as an attribute of substance
so we have here a conception of mind by mind - as what?
the obvious answer here would be mind
in fact I wonder how this could be avoided
if the mind conceives itself as an attribute and an attribute is a conception of the mind
all you can say is the mind primarily conceives itself -
and therefore the idea of substance - or the idea of an attribute of substance - has to be
a further or secondary description that the mind gives itself
on this view substance or God is a conception of mind - and a description of mind
at this point we are clearly very tightly locked into Idealism
but we can take this a little further by asking - when mind conceives itself - what is it
conceiving?
we have already been told that conception is an action -
and in a straightforward sense this sounds good -
but now we are dealing with the idea of the mind conceiving itself
and we have to ask can the idea of conception as action hold up in this context?
that is can we say an act acts on an act - and the result is the mind conceiving itself?
the issue is really what is called self-consciousness
the idea that the mind conceives or is aware of itself
is this awareness an action?
yes - we might say
but will we here also say it is action on action
or is it rather that awareness is a unique kind of action?
if so - what can we say here?
we must remember that any thing we say here is an act of awareness itself
- which makes me think that awareness is just a phenomena that cannot be accounted
for
that it is essentially and necessarily - unknown
and that this is its defining characteristic
in any case Spinoza's notions of attribute and substance - cannot be used to explain his
idea of mind
for it is his very idea of mind out of which these notions take life
and I think this is pretty clear and uncontraversial - just from his definitions
strictly speaking - Spinoza - you could well argue leaves mind undefined -
and that even his minimal description of mind as the action of thought - tells us
nothing really
the question is - is this a good result or not?
from my point of view it is good -
but I don't think this is the conclusion Spinoza wanted to achieve or believed he had
achieved
4.3.08
Hegel 169
Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit:
169.
ARGUMENT:
the determination of life as it has issued from the Notion is sufficient to characterize it
without having to further develop its nature
its sphere is completely determined in the following moments - essence is infinity as
the suppression of all distinctions - the pure moment of axial rotation - its self-repose
being an absolutely restless infinity - independence itself in which the differences of
the movement are resolved - the simple essence of Time has stable shape of Space
the differences are present in this universal medium - for this universal flux has its
negative nature - only in being the suppression of them - but it cannot supersede the
different moments if they do not have an enduring existence
it is the very flux as a self-identical independence which is itself an enduring existence
- in which the different moments are present as distinct members and parts
Being no longer has the significance of an abstract universality - nor has the essence of the different moments the significance of abstract universality - on the contrary their being is the simple fluid substance of pure movement within itself
the difference of these members is just the moments of infinity - or the pure
movement itself
COMMENTARY:
I think Hegel missed his calling - he should have been a classical composer - he has
created a masterful and beautiful - quite exquisite music - and its most stunning
feature is that it is soundless
what we face is what we don't know -
the result of such is anxiety - anxiety is just the experience of not-knowing - with the
belief that knowing is possible - anxiety is this conflict -
out of this anxiety - in response to it we create explanations - pictures - myths
the point of which is to dispel the unknown
strictly speaking it is to just cover it -
our posits - our 'descriptions' are the platforms we create in order to act with some
bearing - some coordinates - in a world that is essentially unknown
we conquer the unknown in our imaginations
here I will leave Hegel for the present
169.
ARGUMENT:
the determination of life as it has issued from the Notion is sufficient to characterize it
without having to further develop its nature
its sphere is completely determined in the following moments - essence is infinity as
the suppression of all distinctions - the pure moment of axial rotation - its self-repose
being an absolutely restless infinity - independence itself in which the differences of
the movement are resolved - the simple essence of Time has stable shape of Space
the differences are present in this universal medium - for this universal flux has its
negative nature - only in being the suppression of them - but it cannot supersede the
different moments if they do not have an enduring existence
it is the very flux as a self-identical independence which is itself an enduring existence
- in which the different moments are present as distinct members and parts
Being no longer has the significance of an abstract universality - nor has the essence of the different moments the significance of abstract universality - on the contrary their being is the simple fluid substance of pure movement within itself
the difference of these members is just the moments of infinity - or the pure
movement itself
COMMENTARY:
I think Hegel missed his calling - he should have been a classical composer - he has
created a masterful and beautiful - quite exquisite music - and its most stunning
feature is that it is soundless
what we face is what we don't know -
the result of such is anxiety - anxiety is just the experience of not-knowing - with the
belief that knowing is possible - anxiety is this conflict -
out of this anxiety - in response to it we create explanations - pictures - myths
the point of which is to dispel the unknown
strictly speaking it is to just cover it -
our posits - our 'descriptions' are the platforms we create in order to act with some
bearing - some coordinates - in a world that is essentially unknown
we conquer the unknown in our imaginations
here I will leave Hegel for the present
3.3.08
Hegel 168
Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit:
168.
ARGUMENT:
for us the object which for self-consciousness is the negative element has returned
into itself just as on the other side consciousness has -
through this reflection into itself the object has become Life
what self-consciousness distinguishes from itself as having being - is being reflected
into itself - and the object of immediate desire is a living thing
for the in-itself or the universal the result of the relation of the Understanding to the
inwardness of things is the distinguishing of what is not to be distinguished - or the
unity of what is distinguished
to the extent that consciousness is independent so too is its object - but only implicitly
self-consciousness which is simply for itself - and directly characterizes its object as a
negative element - or is primarily desire - will therefore on the contrary learn through
experience that the object is independent
COMMENTARY:
self-consciousness - recognizes what it is not -
this recognition is a direct logical result of the nature of self-consciousness
self-consciousness recognizes itself as conscious - that which it is not - as not-conscious
that which is outside of it (the outside of essential internality) is the object - for the
subject
the recognition of internality - is the key - this recognition just is self-consciousness
if 'x' knows what 'x' is - it follows 'x' knows what it is not
if this is not the case - then we do not in fact have an 'x' - that is we have an undefined
entity
internality is defined - and self-aware - therefore it knows that what it is not - is not
aware
for consciousness the object is the result of a logical operation
this knowledge which recognizes the object - the external - the world outside of
consciousness - is no grand metaphysical scheme - it is a simple logical operation
substance is not the issue - it is an issue of form - logical form
substance comes later as a posit of consciousness
consciousness' recognition of the obeject has nothing at all to do with experience -
experience is predicated on this logic
NB.
desire I think is the ground or the reason for action
we only know of desire in any determinate sense in terms of the object desired
and if we reflect here we are forced to ask why - why this?
so the issue is not settled - on the contrary it brings into sharp focus the fact that we
do not know
that is we do not know what desire is
and this I would suggest is the origin of and the force of desire
desire is not knowing
168.
ARGUMENT:
for us the object which for self-consciousness is the negative element has returned
into itself just as on the other side consciousness has -
through this reflection into itself the object has become Life
what self-consciousness distinguishes from itself as having being - is being reflected
into itself - and the object of immediate desire is a living thing
for the in-itself or the universal the result of the relation of the Understanding to the
inwardness of things is the distinguishing of what is not to be distinguished - or the
unity of what is distinguished
to the extent that consciousness is independent so too is its object - but only implicitly
self-consciousness which is simply for itself - and directly characterizes its object as a
negative element - or is primarily desire - will therefore on the contrary learn through
experience that the object is independent
COMMENTARY:
self-consciousness - recognizes what it is not -
this recognition is a direct logical result of the nature of self-consciousness
self-consciousness recognizes itself as conscious - that which it is not - as not-conscious
that which is outside of it (the outside of essential internality) is the object - for the
subject
the recognition of internality - is the key - this recognition just is self-consciousness
if 'x' knows what 'x' is - it follows 'x' knows what it is not
if this is not the case - then we do not in fact have an 'x' - that is we have an undefined
entity
internality is defined - and self-aware - therefore it knows that what it is not - is not
aware
for consciousness the object is the result of a logical operation
this knowledge which recognizes the object - the external - the world outside of
consciousness - is no grand metaphysical scheme - it is a simple logical operation
substance is not the issue - it is an issue of form - logical form
substance comes later as a posit of consciousness
consciousness' recognition of the obeject has nothing at all to do with experience -
experience is predicated on this logic
NB.
desire I think is the ground or the reason for action
we only know of desire in any determinate sense in terms of the object desired
and if we reflect here we are forced to ask why - why this?
so the issue is not settled - on the contrary it brings into sharp focus the fact that we
do not know
that is we do not know what desire is
and this I would suggest is the origin of and the force of desire
desire is not knowing
Hegel 167
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
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
Hegel 166
Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit:
03/03/08
Hegel: Self-consciousness
B . Self-consciousness
IV. The truth of self-certainty
166.
ARGUMENT:
in the previous modes of certainty what is true for consciousness is other than itself -
but the Notion of this truth vanishes in the experience of it - what the object was
immediately in itself - turns out to be a mode in which the object is only for another
the Notion of the object is superseded in the actual object - immediate presentation of
the object is superseded in experience - certainty gives place to truth
but now certainty is identical with its truth - for certainty is to itself its own object -
and consciousness is to itself the truth
if we give the name of 'Notion' to the movement of knowing - and the name 'object' to
knowing as a passive unity - or as the 'I' - then the object corresponds to the Notion
for the in-itself is consciousness - but equally it is that for which another (the in itself)
is - and it is for consciousness the case that the in-itself of the object - and its being for
another - are one
the 'I' is the content of the connection and the connecting itself
opposed to an other the 'I' is its own self - as the other is the 'I' itself
COMMENTARY:
it is rather that the actual object is superseded in the notion of the object - the actual
object in its immediate presentation is unknown - the notion of the object is the
characterization of the object - a characterization that enables utility - action in
relation to
there is no certainty in the initial experience - presentation is not certainty - we reflect
because we don't know - reflection is the natural - animal response to uncertainty -
truth is an argument regarding description
quite clearly in identifying the object with the 'I' - Hegel demonstrates he has no
account of the external world as external - a very confused notion of self-
consciousness (the 'I') - and no account at all of object - his object has simply become
absorbed into the subject - and given the status of 'I' -
this whole approach is utterly unworkable
the notions of 'in-itself' and 'for an other' - here have no actual content - we can't say
they belong to the subject or the object - they are without metaphysical place -
at this point you can ask quite reasonably does Hegel know what he is talking about?
he says the 'I' is the content and the connection between the in-itself and the being for
an other
the fact a thing can be regarded as in relation to or not - is all that is being stated here
such a distinction exists in order for us to have options in relation to how we are to see
an entity and thus how we are to act in relation to it
so these distinctions are purely operational - they are categories that transform the
entity from an unknown into an operation
self-consciousness - which is just the awareness of awareness - and again this is just
awareness - (self-consciousness is really just an explanation of consciousness - or visa
versa) - is not at the centre of some metaphysical space - the end points of which are
'in-itself' and 'for an other' - self-consciousness creates such categories to engage the
external world
consciousness is the internal impacting on the external - (and the opposite of course
occurs) - self-consciousness is awareness of awareness
this is just the sense of internality that a conscious / self-conscious entity has - because
its unity is expressed in two dimensions
03/03/08
Hegel: Self-consciousness
B . Self-consciousness
IV. The truth of self-certainty
166.
ARGUMENT:
in the previous modes of certainty what is true for consciousness is other than itself -
but the Notion of this truth vanishes in the experience of it - what the object was
immediately in itself - turns out to be a mode in which the object is only for another
the Notion of the object is superseded in the actual object - immediate presentation of
the object is superseded in experience - certainty gives place to truth
but now certainty is identical with its truth - for certainty is to itself its own object -
and consciousness is to itself the truth
if we give the name of 'Notion' to the movement of knowing - and the name 'object' to
knowing as a passive unity - or as the 'I' - then the object corresponds to the Notion
for the in-itself is consciousness - but equally it is that for which another (the in itself)
is - and it is for consciousness the case that the in-itself of the object - and its being for
another - are one
the 'I' is the content of the connection and the connecting itself
opposed to an other the 'I' is its own self - as the other is the 'I' itself
COMMENTARY:
it is rather that the actual object is superseded in the notion of the object - the actual
object in its immediate presentation is unknown - the notion of the object is the
characterization of the object - a characterization that enables utility - action in
relation to
there is no certainty in the initial experience - presentation is not certainty - we reflect
because we don't know - reflection is the natural - animal response to uncertainty -
truth is an argument regarding description
quite clearly in identifying the object with the 'I' - Hegel demonstrates he has no
account of the external world as external - a very confused notion of self-
consciousness (the 'I') - and no account at all of object - his object has simply become
absorbed into the subject - and given the status of 'I' -
this whole approach is utterly unworkable
the notions of 'in-itself' and 'for an other' - here have no actual content - we can't say
they belong to the subject or the object - they are without metaphysical place -
at this point you can ask quite reasonably does Hegel know what he is talking about?
he says the 'I' is the content and the connection between the in-itself and the being for
an other
the fact a thing can be regarded as in relation to or not - is all that is being stated here
such a distinction exists in order for us to have options in relation to how we are to see
an entity and thus how we are to act in relation to it
so these distinctions are purely operational - they are categories that transform the
entity from an unknown into an operation
self-consciousness - which is just the awareness of awareness - and again this is just
awareness - (self-consciousness is really just an explanation of consciousness - or visa
versa) - is not at the centre of some metaphysical space - the end points of which are
'in-itself' and 'for an other' - self-consciousness creates such categories to engage the
external world
consciousness is the internal impacting on the external - (and the opposite of course
occurs) - self-consciousness is awareness of awareness
this is just the sense of internality that a conscious / self-conscious entity has - because
its unity is expressed in two dimensions
2.3.08
Hegel 165
Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit:
165.
ARGUMENT:
we see that in the inner world of appearance the Understanding comes to know
nothing else but appearance - not in shape of a play of forces - but rather that play of forces in its absolutely universal moments - in fact the Understanding experiences only itself
raised above perception consciousness exhibits itself closed in a unity with the
supersensible world through the mediating term of appearance - through which it
gazes into this background lying behind appearance
the two extremes - the one of the pure inner world - the other that of the inner being
gazing into this pure world - have now coincided - and have vanished - so too the
middle term as something other than these two extremes
this curtain of appearance hanging before the inner world is therefore drawn away -
and we have the inner being gazing into the inner world - self-consciousness
it is manifest that behind the so called curtain which is supposed to conceal the inner
world - there is nothing to be seen unless we go behind it ourselves - as much in order
to see - as that there may be something that can be seen
it is nevertheless evident that we cannot go behind appearance
for this knowledge of appearance and of its inner being - is a result of a complex
movement whereby the modes of consciousness 'meaning' perceiving and
Understanding vanish
and it will be equally evident that the cognition of what consciousness knows in
knowing itself - requires a still more complex movement
COMMENTARY:
appearance as I have argued is the relation between the inner and outer worlds -
between consciousness and non-consciousness
so appearance as such is neither of the inner or outer worlds - and for this reason I say
it is clearly unknown - if not inner or outer - what is it - the answer quite clearly is that
which is not known
the relation nevertheless exists and the object in the sense of the goal of consciousness
is to make it 'known' - it becomes clear that this goal is not reached - but the
endeavour results in the capacity to deal with what is presented and what is unknown
so yes I would agree the understanding comes to know nothing but appearance - and
that this knowledge qua knowledge is an illusion - a ruse - a con
Hegel has no account of the external world - as external - and so for him - the
'knowledge' that results is a knowledge that has no basis outside of consciousness
he does speak a lot of the inner world - but strictly speaking he has no inner world to
refer to - for an inner reality only has any sense and definition if it is the inner of an
outer - and so for Hegel it is true the Understanding only experiences itself - but here's
the twist - there is no self in Hegel that can do the experiencing -
consciousness is not raised above perception - perception is a function of
consciousness -
and yes consciousness is a closed unity - the inside dimension is defined - and
determined by the unity it is the inside of -
however there is no background to consciousness - there is no background to the
inside - there is relative to the inside - only the outside - and the outside is just the
external dimension of the unity
appearance is a 'mediating term' in the sense that appearance is that which results from
the relation of consciousness and its object -
this relation is given - it is natural - there are no holes in it - it is simply the world we
inhabit - in all its fullness
the inner world is pure - and but the inner world just is the inner being - there is no
differentiation between inner world and inner being -
and from the inside there is no 'gazing in' - there is no inside - in the inside -
the gazing is gazing out - and what is reflected into consciousness is the world
conceived
the relation that is consciousness and the non-conscious does not vanish - but equally
it is not seen - the unity that is the human being in the world can only be approached
in terms of consciousness and what is outside of consciousness - the unity per se is
ever present - but unknown
there is no curtain of appearance - appearance covers nothing - there is nothing to
cover
the relation of the inside and the outside is the creation that is appearance - appearance
is an effect
165.
ARGUMENT:
we see that in the inner world of appearance the Understanding comes to know
nothing else but appearance - not in shape of a play of forces - but rather that play of forces in its absolutely universal moments - in fact the Understanding experiences only itself
raised above perception consciousness exhibits itself closed in a unity with the
supersensible world through the mediating term of appearance - through which it
gazes into this background lying behind appearance
the two extremes - the one of the pure inner world - the other that of the inner being
gazing into this pure world - have now coincided - and have vanished - so too the
middle term as something other than these two extremes
this curtain of appearance hanging before the inner world is therefore drawn away -
and we have the inner being gazing into the inner world - self-consciousness
it is manifest that behind the so called curtain which is supposed to conceal the inner
world - there is nothing to be seen unless we go behind it ourselves - as much in order
to see - as that there may be something that can be seen
it is nevertheless evident that we cannot go behind appearance
for this knowledge of appearance and of its inner being - is a result of a complex
movement whereby the modes of consciousness 'meaning' perceiving and
Understanding vanish
and it will be equally evident that the cognition of what consciousness knows in
knowing itself - requires a still more complex movement
COMMENTARY:
appearance as I have argued is the relation between the inner and outer worlds -
between consciousness and non-consciousness
so appearance as such is neither of the inner or outer worlds - and for this reason I say
it is clearly unknown - if not inner or outer - what is it - the answer quite clearly is that
which is not known
the relation nevertheless exists and the object in the sense of the goal of consciousness
is to make it 'known' - it becomes clear that this goal is not reached - but the
endeavour results in the capacity to deal with what is presented and what is unknown
so yes I would agree the understanding comes to know nothing but appearance - and
that this knowledge qua knowledge is an illusion - a ruse - a con
Hegel has no account of the external world - as external - and so for him - the
'knowledge' that results is a knowledge that has no basis outside of consciousness
he does speak a lot of the inner world - but strictly speaking he has no inner world to
refer to - for an inner reality only has any sense and definition if it is the inner of an
outer - and so for Hegel it is true the Understanding only experiences itself - but here's
the twist - there is no self in Hegel that can do the experiencing -
consciousness is not raised above perception - perception is a function of
consciousness -
and yes consciousness is a closed unity - the inside dimension is defined - and
determined by the unity it is the inside of -
however there is no background to consciousness - there is no background to the
inside - there is relative to the inside - only the outside - and the outside is just the
external dimension of the unity
appearance is a 'mediating term' in the sense that appearance is that which results from
the relation of consciousness and its object -
this relation is given - it is natural - there are no holes in it - it is simply the world we
inhabit - in all its fullness
the inner world is pure - and but the inner world just is the inner being - there is no
differentiation between inner world and inner being -
and from the inside there is no 'gazing in' - there is no inside - in the inside -
the gazing is gazing out - and what is reflected into consciousness is the world
conceived
the relation that is consciousness and the non-conscious does not vanish - but equally
it is not seen - the unity that is the human being in the world can only be approached
in terms of consciousness and what is outside of consciousness - the unity per se is
ever present - but unknown
there is no curtain of appearance - appearance covers nothing - there is nothing to
cover
the relation of the inside and the outside is the creation that is appearance - appearance
is an effect
Hegel 164
Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit:
164.
ARGUMENT:
infinity becomes the object of the Understanding - but the Understanding falls short of
infinity as such - since it apportions to two worlds - that which is a difference in itself
- the self-repulsion of the selfsame and the self-attraction of the unlike
to the Understanding the movement as it is found in experience is a mere happening -
and the selfsame and the unlike are predicates whose essence is an inert substrate
what is for the Understanding an object in a sensuous covering - is for us a pure
Notion
the exposition of its Notion belongs to science - consciousness immediately has this
Notion - and the notion comes onto the scene as a form belonging to consciousness
itself - or as a new shape of consciousness
since this object of infinity is an object for consciousness - the latter is consciousness
of a difference that is no less immediately canceled
consciousness is for its own self - it is a distinguishing of that which contains no
difference - or self-consciousness
I distinguish myself from myself - and in doing so I am directly aware that what is
distinguished from myself is not different from me
I - the selfsame being repel myself from myself - but what is posited as distinct from
me or as unlike me - is immediately in being so distinguished - not a distinction for
me
it is true that consciousness of an 'other' - of an object in general - is itself necessarily
self-consciousness - a reflectedness-into-self - consciousness of itself - in its otherness
the necessary advance from the previous shapes of consciousness for which their truth
was a Thing - an 'other' than themselves - expresses just this - that not only is
consciousness of a thing possible only for a self-consciousness - but that self-
consciousness alone is the truth of those shapes
but it is only for us that this truth exists - not yet for consciousness
but self-consciousness has become simply for itself - not yet as a unity with
consciousness in general
COMMENTARY:
infinity in the sense of a conception of the endless or the boundless is a pseudo
conception in that a concept is a concept because it is bound or defined - that is if this
infinity makes some kind of existential sense - it cannot be conceived - what you have
here is the mistake that the non-concept refers or signifies - an example of the general
logical error that the negative refers - or is a sign of a kind of reality - when in fact all
the negative is - is a sign of decision - the decision not to proceed -
beyond what is conceived - is relative to the conception - that which is not known -
this is the best that can be made of this 'infinity theory'
the 'mere happening' Hegel refers to is just a description of the fact of consciousness
facing the unknown - this unknown or 'mere happening' is the object of consciousness
- it is just what consciousness must and does make something of
the 'object in a sensuous covering' is the world of appearance - that is the relation of
consciousness and the non-conscious - the ground which consciousness reflectively
interprets - for us it is a pure notion in the sense that it is the unknown - this is its
'purity' - if you want to go down the poetic track
science is indeed a tool for the exposition of the world of appearance as it is given as
an unknown - and yes consciousness immediately has this notion - it is what is given
to consciousness - just in the act of consciousness' relation to the non-conscious - and
yes the notion as any notion does belong to consciousness - the notion is a creation of
consciousness - and notions do give consciousness a characterization - but in so far as
consciousness is a dimension - the internal dimension - what you will have is the play
of shapes within this space
Hegel defines self-consciousness as that which contains no difference - all this
amounts to is the idea that self-consciousness is a unity - which in my terms is to say
it is the internal dimension of a thing -
now I happen to think that all consciousness is self consciousness - and that therefore
any distinction between consciousness and non-consciousness is a false distinction -
but for Hegel consciousness is not self-consciousness - self-consciousness is some
kind of development of consciousness
therefore to say that self-consciousness is that with no difference - is really to say
nothing -
we have no theory of self-consciousness from Hegel
he says I distinguish myself from myself - this makes no sense - there is no proper use
of logic here - that which is may be distinguished from that which is not - that which is
therefore outside of itself - consciousness may distinguish that which it is not i.e. - the
external world - but 'itself' - is not - external to consciousness
his idea that I repel myself from myself suggests the beginning of some kind of theory
of how consciousness can create 'itself' - strange as this idea might be - but this line of
inquiry ends quickly with the realization that any such distinction is 'not a distinction
for me'
but the real kicker comes next - the argument that the 'other' is itself necessarily self-
consciousness
as they say you can run but you can't hide - and this is the position Hegel is in - he has
no where to go -
his failure to understand that consciousness / self-consciousness is internality - and
that its object is externality - his failure that is to recognize and or establish the
external world - as external - has left him only with consciousness - we cannot even
say - 'the internal' - for Hegel does not understand that the essence of consciousness is
internality - therefore his 'consciousness' - is nothing - literally nothing - the term has
no meaning as a result of his deliberations -
he can't even retreat into solipsism - there is literally nowhere to go - for to this point
he hasn't managed to establish the self - let alone the self as everything
what you have from Hegel is like an archeological expedition that covers all the
ground and uses every tool available - and even makes a number of new tools -
but in the end after all the blood and sweat - all the high hopes and grand endeavours -
finds nothing -
and leaves nothing but a hole where once there was a serene landscape
164.
ARGUMENT:
infinity becomes the object of the Understanding - but the Understanding falls short of
infinity as such - since it apportions to two worlds - that which is a difference in itself
- the self-repulsion of the selfsame and the self-attraction of the unlike
to the Understanding the movement as it is found in experience is a mere happening -
and the selfsame and the unlike are predicates whose essence is an inert substrate
what is for the Understanding an object in a sensuous covering - is for us a pure
Notion
the exposition of its Notion belongs to science - consciousness immediately has this
Notion - and the notion comes onto the scene as a form belonging to consciousness
itself - or as a new shape of consciousness
since this object of infinity is an object for consciousness - the latter is consciousness
of a difference that is no less immediately canceled
consciousness is for its own self - it is a distinguishing of that which contains no
difference - or self-consciousness
I distinguish myself from myself - and in doing so I am directly aware that what is
distinguished from myself is not different from me
I - the selfsame being repel myself from myself - but what is posited as distinct from
me or as unlike me - is immediately in being so distinguished - not a distinction for
me
it is true that consciousness of an 'other' - of an object in general - is itself necessarily
self-consciousness - a reflectedness-into-self - consciousness of itself - in its otherness
the necessary advance from the previous shapes of consciousness for which their truth
was a Thing - an 'other' than themselves - expresses just this - that not only is
consciousness of a thing possible only for a self-consciousness - but that self-
consciousness alone is the truth of those shapes
but it is only for us that this truth exists - not yet for consciousness
but self-consciousness has become simply for itself - not yet as a unity with
consciousness in general
COMMENTARY:
infinity in the sense of a conception of the endless or the boundless is a pseudo
conception in that a concept is a concept because it is bound or defined - that is if this
infinity makes some kind of existential sense - it cannot be conceived - what you have
here is the mistake that the non-concept refers or signifies - an example of the general
logical error that the negative refers - or is a sign of a kind of reality - when in fact all
the negative is - is a sign of decision - the decision not to proceed -
beyond what is conceived - is relative to the conception - that which is not known -
this is the best that can be made of this 'infinity theory'
the 'mere happening' Hegel refers to is just a description of the fact of consciousness
facing the unknown - this unknown or 'mere happening' is the object of consciousness
- it is just what consciousness must and does make something of
the 'object in a sensuous covering' is the world of appearance - that is the relation of
consciousness and the non-conscious - the ground which consciousness reflectively
interprets - for us it is a pure notion in the sense that it is the unknown - this is its
'purity' - if you want to go down the poetic track
science is indeed a tool for the exposition of the world of appearance as it is given as
an unknown - and yes consciousness immediately has this notion - it is what is given
to consciousness - just in the act of consciousness' relation to the non-conscious - and
yes the notion as any notion does belong to consciousness - the notion is a creation of
consciousness - and notions do give consciousness a characterization - but in so far as
consciousness is a dimension - the internal dimension - what you will have is the play
of shapes within this space
Hegel defines self-consciousness as that which contains no difference - all this
amounts to is the idea that self-consciousness is a unity - which in my terms is to say
it is the internal dimension of a thing -
now I happen to think that all consciousness is self consciousness - and that therefore
any distinction between consciousness and non-consciousness is a false distinction -
but for Hegel consciousness is not self-consciousness - self-consciousness is some
kind of development of consciousness
therefore to say that self-consciousness is that with no difference - is really to say
nothing -
we have no theory of self-consciousness from Hegel
he says I distinguish myself from myself - this makes no sense - there is no proper use
of logic here - that which is may be distinguished from that which is not - that which is
therefore outside of itself - consciousness may distinguish that which it is not i.e. - the
external world - but 'itself' - is not - external to consciousness
his idea that I repel myself from myself suggests the beginning of some kind of theory
of how consciousness can create 'itself' - strange as this idea might be - but this line of
inquiry ends quickly with the realization that any such distinction is 'not a distinction
for me'
but the real kicker comes next - the argument that the 'other' is itself necessarily self-
consciousness
as they say you can run but you can't hide - and this is the position Hegel is in - he has
no where to go -
his failure to understand that consciousness / self-consciousness is internality - and
that its object is externality - his failure that is to recognize and or establish the
external world - as external - has left him only with consciousness - we cannot even
say - 'the internal' - for Hegel does not understand that the essence of consciousness is
internality - therefore his 'consciousness' - is nothing - literally nothing - the term has
no meaning as a result of his deliberations -
he can't even retreat into solipsism - there is literally nowhere to go - for to this point
he hasn't managed to establish the self - let alone the self as everything
what you have from Hegel is like an archeological expedition that covers all the
ground and uses every tool available - and even makes a number of new tools -
but in the end after all the blood and sweat - all the high hopes and grand endeavours -
finds nothing -
and leaves nothing but a hole where once there was a serene landscape
1.3.08
Hegel 163
Hegel's Phenemenology of Spirit:
163.
ARGUMENT:
infinity or this absolute unrest of pure movement - is being - is the soul of all that has
gone before -
it is in the inner world that it has freely and clearly shown itself
appearance or the play of forces displays it - but it is as explanation that it first freely
stands forth
and in being finally an object of consciousness - as that which it is - consciousness is
thus self-consciousness
the Understanding's 'explanation' is primarily the only description of what self-
consciousness is
the reason why 'explaining' affords so much satisfaction is just because in it
consciousness is so to speak communing directly with itself - enjoying only itself -
although it seems to be busy with something else - it is in fact occupied only with
itself
COMMENTARY:
it is very disappointing to finally get to self-consciousness in Hegel's argument - and
to get nothing from him
it appears that he does not see that the question of how the inner world of
consciousness becomes an object of consciousness - is the question that must be
answered in any theory of consciousness
it is not even on his radar - as if there is no question here
and this is the central issue of consciousness - the nature of self-consciousness -
how does the subject hold itself as object - how can the subject be object?
what kind of thing can be subject and object - how can we explain or comprehend
this?
to simply say - consciousness exists as 'object consciousness' - and thus consciousness
is self-consciousness - is at the best breathtakingly naive
in what sense - how - does consciousness exist as an object?
we have no account form Hegel on this issue
his next point is that the understanding's explanation of consciousness is the only
description of what self-consciousness is -
so on this view - the understanding is something other than consciousness
to be cruel here you could say therefore the understanding is by definition - non-
conscious - and this of course is ridiculous
or the alternative is - that the understanding is consciousness - and therefore
consciousness' explanation of itself is the only description of self consciousness
OK - so how does consciousness 'describe itself" - what is being described?
and again - how is that consciousness can regard itself as the object of consciousness?
these are all questions Hegel's seems not to have recognized - or if recognized decided
not to address
and everything depends on the answers here
finally it's clear that he has put all this in the too hard basket - and just taken the
apparently easy way out - an unexplained solipsism -
'it is in fact only occupied with itself'
as I said this is a sad chapter in Hegel's discussion
I was really hoping he would take this issue on - instead he has just sidestepped it
I am going to jump in here and put some conclusions -
consciousness is self-consciousness -
to be aware one must be aware that one is aware
so this is just the nature of consciousness - of awareness
by its nature consciousness is 'self-illuminating' - and this is where we begin
if so consciousness - does not become self-conscious
the categories of subject and object - of knower and known are constructs of
consciousness deigned to give some logical foundation to our dealings with the
unknown that is appearance
consciousness recognizes itself as internality - it is thus aware of its meta place
the world outside of consciousness is the external world
the external world is the object of consciousness
consciousness recognizes itself as knower -
the idea that consciousness is known - that you can know yourself - is to confuse
subject and object
consciousness does not - cannot know itself
'itself' is internal - the known is external -
consciousness is not external to itself
consciousness is aware of itself - aware of itself as unknown
this is the essential nature of consciousness - that it recognizes itself as unknown
in fact it sees itself as unknowable
the category of knowability does not apply to consciousness - only to that which is
outside of consciousness
awareness of self is simply and only the awareness of internality
and this awareness is not an awareness of something - of substance - it is an awareness
of dimension -
which is simply to say it is an awareness of logic - of logical form
that is consciousness' awareness of 'itself'
my view is that the world of appearance is the relation of consciousness and its object
that this relation is the common ground of conscious and non-conscious being - it is
the working reality
and so it is the case that consciousness reflects on what is given in this working reality
and what is it that is given?
I am going to put something quite radical in answer to this -
my view is that the relation of consciousness and the non-conscious is the common
reality that is image -
the relation of mind to its object results in image
the ground that consciousness comes to in the second moment is the world of image
I say this here to get to the fact that image is not a characteristic of the internal - and it
is not a characteristic of the external - not that such a view would generally need to be
argued
image is the relation
image is the reality of the relation of the conscious and non-conscious
therefore as object the image is reflected on by consciousness
it is this reflective action that transfers the image as reflection to consciousness
so it will be asked - if so what is the internality of consciousness?
most would say it is the world of image - at the very least
the internality of consciousness is thought
and thought is without image
imagination is the action of thought in the world of image
it is consciousness' dealing with the world of image
and what can we say of the nature of the this relational world - this unity of the
conscious and non-conscious?
it is not to be confused with the internal or with the external -
so how is it to be characterized?
my answer is both ways -
it's really the Blues Brother's joke - "what kind of music have you got here?" "we got
both kinds - country and western"
the point is - we can only explain the unity in terms of thought or non-thought
in terms of mind or matter
the unity that is the unity of mind and matter is not definable - it is unknown
163.
ARGUMENT:
infinity or this absolute unrest of pure movement - is being - is the soul of all that has
gone before -
it is in the inner world that it has freely and clearly shown itself
appearance or the play of forces displays it - but it is as explanation that it first freely
stands forth
and in being finally an object of consciousness - as that which it is - consciousness is
thus self-consciousness
the Understanding's 'explanation' is primarily the only description of what self-
consciousness is
the reason why 'explaining' affords so much satisfaction is just because in it
consciousness is so to speak communing directly with itself - enjoying only itself -
although it seems to be busy with something else - it is in fact occupied only with
itself
COMMENTARY:
it is very disappointing to finally get to self-consciousness in Hegel's argument - and
to get nothing from him
it appears that he does not see that the question of how the inner world of
consciousness becomes an object of consciousness - is the question that must be
answered in any theory of consciousness
it is not even on his radar - as if there is no question here
and this is the central issue of consciousness - the nature of self-consciousness -
how does the subject hold itself as object - how can the subject be object?
what kind of thing can be subject and object - how can we explain or comprehend
this?
to simply say - consciousness exists as 'object consciousness' - and thus consciousness
is self-consciousness - is at the best breathtakingly naive
in what sense - how - does consciousness exist as an object?
we have no account form Hegel on this issue
his next point is that the understanding's explanation of consciousness is the only
description of what self-consciousness is -
so on this view - the understanding is something other than consciousness
to be cruel here you could say therefore the understanding is by definition - non-
conscious - and this of course is ridiculous
or the alternative is - that the understanding is consciousness - and therefore
consciousness' explanation of itself is the only description of self consciousness
OK - so how does consciousness 'describe itself" - what is being described?
and again - how is that consciousness can regard itself as the object of consciousness?
these are all questions Hegel's seems not to have recognized - or if recognized decided
not to address
and everything depends on the answers here
finally it's clear that he has put all this in the too hard basket - and just taken the
apparently easy way out - an unexplained solipsism -
'it is in fact only occupied with itself'
as I said this is a sad chapter in Hegel's discussion
I was really hoping he would take this issue on - instead he has just sidestepped it
I am going to jump in here and put some conclusions -
consciousness is self-consciousness -
to be aware one must be aware that one is aware
so this is just the nature of consciousness - of awareness
by its nature consciousness is 'self-illuminating' - and this is where we begin
if so consciousness - does not become self-conscious
the categories of subject and object - of knower and known are constructs of
consciousness deigned to give some logical foundation to our dealings with the
unknown that is appearance
consciousness recognizes itself as internality - it is thus aware of its meta place
the world outside of consciousness is the external world
the external world is the object of consciousness
consciousness recognizes itself as knower -
the idea that consciousness is known - that you can know yourself - is to confuse
subject and object
consciousness does not - cannot know itself
'itself' is internal - the known is external -
consciousness is not external to itself
consciousness is aware of itself - aware of itself as unknown
this is the essential nature of consciousness - that it recognizes itself as unknown
in fact it sees itself as unknowable
the category of knowability does not apply to consciousness - only to that which is
outside of consciousness
awareness of self is simply and only the awareness of internality
and this awareness is not an awareness of something - of substance - it is an awareness
of dimension -
which is simply to say it is an awareness of logic - of logical form
that is consciousness' awareness of 'itself'
my view is that the world of appearance is the relation of consciousness and its object
that this relation is the common ground of conscious and non-conscious being - it is
the working reality
and so it is the case that consciousness reflects on what is given in this working reality
and what is it that is given?
I am going to put something quite radical in answer to this -
my view is that the relation of consciousness and the non-conscious is the common
reality that is image -
the relation of mind to its object results in image
the ground that consciousness comes to in the second moment is the world of image
I say this here to get to the fact that image is not a characteristic of the internal - and it
is not a characteristic of the external - not that such a view would generally need to be
argued
image is the relation
image is the reality of the relation of the conscious and non-conscious
therefore as object the image is reflected on by consciousness
it is this reflective action that transfers the image as reflection to consciousness
so it will be asked - if so what is the internality of consciousness?
most would say it is the world of image - at the very least
the internality of consciousness is thought
and thought is without image
imagination is the action of thought in the world of image
it is consciousness' dealing with the world of image
and what can we say of the nature of the this relational world - this unity of the
conscious and non-conscious?
it is not to be confused with the internal or with the external -
so how is it to be characterized?
my answer is both ways -
it's really the Blues Brother's joke - "what kind of music have you got here?" "we got
both kinds - country and western"
the point is - we can only explain the unity in terms of thought or non-thought
in terms of mind or matter
the unity that is the unity of mind and matter is not definable - it is unknown
29.2.08
Hegel 162
Hegel's Phenemenology of Spirit:
162.
ARGUMENT:
this simple infinity or the absolute Notion may be called the simple essence of life
this self identical essence is related only to itself
each sundered moment is a pure opposite and therefore each the opposite of itself -
therefore not an opposite at all - but rather a pure self-identical essence
philosophy cannot answer the question 'how from this pure essence does difference or
otherness issue forth?' - for the division into two moments has already taken place -
difference is excluded from the self-identical and set apart from it
what was supposed to be self-identical is already one of these two moments instead of
being the absolute essence
that the self-identical divides into two means that it supersedes itself as an otherness
the unity of which it is usual to say that difference cannot issue from it - is in fact one
of the two moments - it is the abstraction of the simplicity or unitary nature over
and against the difference
but in saying the unity is an abstraction - it is only one of the opposed moments - it is
already implied that it is the dividing of itself - for if the unity is a negative it is
opposed to something - then it is eo ipso posited as that which has an antithesis within
it
the different moments of self-sundering and of becoming self-identical are therefore
only this movement of self-suppression
for since the self-identical moment which becomes its opposite is an abstraction or is
already a self-sundering - its self-sundering is therefore a suppression of what it is and
therefore a suppression of its dividedness
its becoming self-identical is equally a self-sundering - what becomes identical with
itself thereby opposes itself to self-sundering - it puts itself on one side - it becomes
the sundered moment
COMMENTARY:
first up the term 'self-identical' is meaningless - the phrase suggests a relation where
none holds - a relation exists between different things - therefore a thing is not related
to itself - if it is related to anything - it is related to what is not itself
likewise 'self-sundering' makes no sense - if a thing is sundered - it is undered by
another thing
if 'self-identical' is the definition of essence - we can forget essence
alternatively we can simply recognize that the final nature of things is unknown
in saying that philosophy cannot answer the question 'how from pure essence does
difference issue forth? - Hegel is for a moment recognizing the truth of skepticism
that is he is acknowledging that we do not and cannot know the origin and nature of
reality
but this acknowledgment is short lived - it is in his terms 'sundered' and I think never
to be 'un-sundered'
really where Hegel shines is in his introduction of movement into the metaphysical
realm
and it is a useful concept in relation to the problem of unity and diversity
his idea in short is that the unity diversifies and that the diversification unifies
and that this movement is ongoing - that is it is of the nature of reality - reality is this
movement
his logic of opposites is the conceptual underpinning or description for this reality
and he can say that his logic expresses the movement of reality and that the movement
of reality is described or expressed in his logic
one cannot help but think that whatever else you might say against Hegel's argument -
there is no doubt his identification of reality as a movement is of lasting significance
and value
for Hegel - it is the movement - the fact of change that is unchanging -
and this for him is the essence of life
as to this movement - it is quite simply unknown -
Hegel devotes all his poer to describing it - 'explaining' it - but really all his efforts
finally point to the fact that the 'movement' is no more than a name for the unknown
to my mind his dialectical argument amounts to saying that the idea of stable
knowledge is an illusion
and I would go the one step further and say that therefore this account of knowledge
and reality - cannot itself be held outside of it own logic
that is to say that such a metaphysics - like what it describes is only a moment in an
ever changing reality
language fixes it to a page - therefore it has the appearance of being what it is not -
unchanging
in fact like everything else it is ephemeral
from an artistic perspective it is a moment of revelation - even a moment of delight
162.
ARGUMENT:
this simple infinity or the absolute Notion may be called the simple essence of life
this self identical essence is related only to itself
each sundered moment is a pure opposite and therefore each the opposite of itself -
therefore not an opposite at all - but rather a pure self-identical essence
philosophy cannot answer the question 'how from this pure essence does difference or
otherness issue forth?' - for the division into two moments has already taken place -
difference is excluded from the self-identical and set apart from it
what was supposed to be self-identical is already one of these two moments instead of
being the absolute essence
that the self-identical divides into two means that it supersedes itself as an otherness
the unity of which it is usual to say that difference cannot issue from it - is in fact one
of the two moments - it is the abstraction of the simplicity or unitary nature over
and against the difference
but in saying the unity is an abstraction - it is only one of the opposed moments - it is
already implied that it is the dividing of itself - for if the unity is a negative it is
opposed to something - then it is eo ipso posited as that which has an antithesis within
it
the different moments of self-sundering and of becoming self-identical are therefore
only this movement of self-suppression
for since the self-identical moment which becomes its opposite is an abstraction or is
already a self-sundering - its self-sundering is therefore a suppression of what it is and
therefore a suppression of its dividedness
its becoming self-identical is equally a self-sundering - what becomes identical with
itself thereby opposes itself to self-sundering - it puts itself on one side - it becomes
the sundered moment
COMMENTARY:
first up the term 'self-identical' is meaningless - the phrase suggests a relation where
none holds - a relation exists between different things - therefore a thing is not related
to itself - if it is related to anything - it is related to what is not itself
likewise 'self-sundering' makes no sense - if a thing is sundered - it is undered by
another thing
if 'self-identical' is the definition of essence - we can forget essence
alternatively we can simply recognize that the final nature of things is unknown
in saying that philosophy cannot answer the question 'how from pure essence does
difference issue forth? - Hegel is for a moment recognizing the truth of skepticism
that is he is acknowledging that we do not and cannot know the origin and nature of
reality
but this acknowledgment is short lived - it is in his terms 'sundered' and I think never
to be 'un-sundered'
really where Hegel shines is in his introduction of movement into the metaphysical
realm
and it is a useful concept in relation to the problem of unity and diversity
his idea in short is that the unity diversifies and that the diversification unifies
and that this movement is ongoing - that is it is of the nature of reality - reality is this
movement
his logic of opposites is the conceptual underpinning or description for this reality
and he can say that his logic expresses the movement of reality and that the movement
of reality is described or expressed in his logic
one cannot help but think that whatever else you might say against Hegel's argument -
there is no doubt his identification of reality as a movement is of lasting significance
and value
for Hegel - it is the movement - the fact of change that is unchanging -
and this for him is the essence of life
as to this movement - it is quite simply unknown -
Hegel devotes all his poer to describing it - 'explaining' it - but really all his efforts
finally point to the fact that the 'movement' is no more than a name for the unknown
to my mind his dialectical argument amounts to saying that the idea of stable
knowledge is an illusion
and I would go the one step further and say that therefore this account of knowledge
and reality - cannot itself be held outside of it own logic
that is to say that such a metaphysics - like what it describes is only a moment in an
ever changing reality
language fixes it to a page - therefore it has the appearance of being what it is not -
unchanging
in fact like everything else it is ephemeral
from an artistic perspective it is a moment of revelation - even a moment of delight
28.2.08
Hegel 161
Hegel's Phenemenology of Spirit:
161.
ARGUMENT:
we see that through infinity law completes itself into an immanent necessity - and all
the moments of the world of appearance are taken up into the inner world
that the simple character of law is infinity means - (a) that it is self-identical but is also
in itself different - (b) what is thus dirumpted - which constitutes the parts thought of
as in law - exhibits itself in a stable existence - and if the parts are considered without
the Notion of the inner difference - then space and time - or distance and velocity -
which appear as moments of gravity are just as indifferent and without a necessary
relation to one another as to gravity itself - (c) through the notion of inner difference -
these unlike and indifferent moments or space and time are a difference which is no
difference - or only a difference of what is selfsame and its essence is unity - as a
positive and negative they stimulate each other into activity and their being is rather to
posit themselves as not being and to suspend themselves in the unity - the two
distinguished moments both subsist - they are implicit and opposites in themselves
COMMENTARY:
the way I see it is like this -
the world we experience - the world of appearance is the first moment of awareness
reflection - which is an act or operation of consciousness divides the unity of
appearance into consciousness and non-consciousness
and so we understand appearance as the relation of consciousness and non-
consciousness -
the world as given - the world of appearance is initially unknown
the division of consciousness and non-consciousness - becomes for us the existential
reality and the analytical reality -
this is the second moment of awareness
and so we can say that the operational reality is a divided reality - in the sense that we
recognize that the unity has for us a conscious and non-conscious aspect
the understanding is that we can deal with the unity in terms of the relation of its
aspects
the world in the first moment prior to the reflection that gives us the awareness of the
conscious and non-conscious aspects is not a blank - but it is unknown
what is given in this first moment is analyzed in the second - so that what appears is
given characterization in consciousness
this is the beginning of the reflective process that gives us operational power
this power is the power of knowledge
this knowledge though is based on the unknown - it is consciousness' reflective
response to the unknown - and therefore it has no foundation other than operation
and the truth is we operate in mystery - in the sense that why the world just is the
way it is for us is never a matter we have - 'knowledge' of - but this understanding
actually makes no difference to how we deal with what we have to deal with
so for operational purposes the world of appearance - becomes that which is external
to consciousness
the inner world the world of thought is the resource we have to determine how to
proceed outside of thought
Hegel has it that all the moments of appearance are taken up into the inner world -
that which is outside of consciousness and is placed in the focus of a consciousness is
the world of appearance for that consciousness -
what this is for that consciousness is in the first place given in the very relation of
consciousness and the non-conscious - but what this means is always a reflective
possibility of the individual consciousness - and what it in fact means is shown in how
the person operates - which is just thought translated into action
it is not possible to ascertain the full meaning of any action - it is here that we are
faced with infinity - what in fact happens is we decide - that is cut-off the process and
determine - and in so doing we posit the finite - we make our actions and the world of
our action finite
infinity is the reality of the absence of knowledge
decision is the world made finite
161.
ARGUMENT:
we see that through infinity law completes itself into an immanent necessity - and all
the moments of the world of appearance are taken up into the inner world
that the simple character of law is infinity means - (a) that it is self-identical but is also
in itself different - (b) what is thus dirumpted - which constitutes the parts thought of
as in law - exhibits itself in a stable existence - and if the parts are considered without
the Notion of the inner difference - then space and time - or distance and velocity -
which appear as moments of gravity are just as indifferent and without a necessary
relation to one another as to gravity itself - (c) through the notion of inner difference -
these unlike and indifferent moments or space and time are a difference which is no
difference - or only a difference of what is selfsame and its essence is unity - as a
positive and negative they stimulate each other into activity and their being is rather to
posit themselves as not being and to suspend themselves in the unity - the two
distinguished moments both subsist - they are implicit and opposites in themselves
COMMENTARY:
the way I see it is like this -
the world we experience - the world of appearance is the first moment of awareness
reflection - which is an act or operation of consciousness divides the unity of
appearance into consciousness and non-consciousness
and so we understand appearance as the relation of consciousness and non-
consciousness -
the world as given - the world of appearance is initially unknown
the division of consciousness and non-consciousness - becomes for us the existential
reality and the analytical reality -
this is the second moment of awareness
and so we can say that the operational reality is a divided reality - in the sense that we
recognize that the unity has for us a conscious and non-conscious aspect
the understanding is that we can deal with the unity in terms of the relation of its
aspects
the world in the first moment prior to the reflection that gives us the awareness of the
conscious and non-conscious aspects is not a blank - but it is unknown
what is given in this first moment is analyzed in the second - so that what appears is
given characterization in consciousness
this is the beginning of the reflective process that gives us operational power
this power is the power of knowledge
this knowledge though is based on the unknown - it is consciousness' reflective
response to the unknown - and therefore it has no foundation other than operation
and the truth is we operate in mystery - in the sense that why the world just is the
way it is for us is never a matter we have - 'knowledge' of - but this understanding
actually makes no difference to how we deal with what we have to deal with
so for operational purposes the world of appearance - becomes that which is external
to consciousness
the inner world the world of thought is the resource we have to determine how to
proceed outside of thought
Hegel has it that all the moments of appearance are taken up into the inner world -
that which is outside of consciousness and is placed in the focus of a consciousness is
the world of appearance for that consciousness -
what this is for that consciousness is in the first place given in the very relation of
consciousness and the non-conscious - but what this means is always a reflective
possibility of the individual consciousness - and what it in fact means is shown in how
the person operates - which is just thought translated into action
it is not possible to ascertain the full meaning of any action - it is here that we are
faced with infinity - what in fact happens is we decide - that is cut-off the process and
determine - and in so doing we posit the finite - we make our actions and the world of
our action finite
infinity is the reality of the absence of knowledge
decision is the world made finite
27.2.08
Hegel 160
Hegel's Phenemenology of Spirit:
160.
ARGUMENT:
from the idea of inversion - which constitutes the essential nature of one aspect of the
supersensible world - we must eliminate the idea of fixing the differences in a
different sustaining element
and this absolute Notion of the difference must be represented and understood purely
as inner difference - a repulsion of the selfsame from itself and likeness of the unlike
as an unlike
we have to think contradiction
for in the difference which is an inner difference the opposite is not merely one of two
- if it were it would simply be without being an opposite - but it is the opposite of an
opposite - or the other is immediately present in it
certainly I put the 'opposite' here - and the other of which it is the opposite there
thus the supersensible world which is the inverted world has at the same time
overarched the other world and has it within it
it is for itself the inverted world - i.e. - the inversion of itself - it is itself and its
opposite in one unity
only thus is it difference as an inner difference - or difference in its own self - or
difference as an infinity
COMMENTARY:
the internality and externality of thing are its dimensions -
which is to say the formal characteristics of its structure
now Hegel describes the relation of the sensible to the supersensible as inversion
do we say the inside of an entity is the inversion of the outside?
this is to give the relation a definite characterization
the idea is neat in a logical sense - i.e. it does preserve the unity of the entity and yet
define the difference in terms of perspective
and it seems to acknowledge the inside-ness of consciousness
and yes we could just say the inside of a thing is the outside - inverted
why I resist this characterization is that it seems to carry with it much metaphysical
baggage - i.e. the sensible world is in a state of flux - the supersensible the home of
the universal -
this preserves the inversion but it is clear that the idea of inversion is not the simple
geometrical one - it is metaphysically loaded
I think this is a mistake
I think we can give a simple and elegant characterization of mind and body that can be
stated in terms that shows we do not need to fill it up with extraneous metaphysical
issues and properties
that is we can say an entity has an inside and an outside - and we understand this just
as stated - the notion of inversion is not necessary to the idea of inside - to the idea of
the relation of inside to outside
what do we say of this relation?
that one is the opposite of the other?
'opposite' is easy - but like 'inversion' it seems to imply more than just an essential
relation
internality and externality are essential qualities of a thing
these qualities are distinct - internality cannot be changed into externality or visa versa
the space of these qualities is distinct - they exist in different spaces
so I would argue it is not just a matter of a different perspective in the same space -
which is the inversion argument
mind and matter are different dimensions regardless of perspective
furthermore perspective is a function of internality - internality is not a function of
perspective
the internality of a thing is awareness
awareness is not the inversion of its absence
the absence of awareness is its non-existence
the non-existence of a thing cannot be inverted
there is nothing to invert
160.
ARGUMENT:
from the idea of inversion - which constitutes the essential nature of one aspect of the
supersensible world - we must eliminate the idea of fixing the differences in a
different sustaining element
and this absolute Notion of the difference must be represented and understood purely
as inner difference - a repulsion of the selfsame from itself and likeness of the unlike
as an unlike
we have to think contradiction
for in the difference which is an inner difference the opposite is not merely one of two
- if it were it would simply be without being an opposite - but it is the opposite of an
opposite - or the other is immediately present in it
certainly I put the 'opposite' here - and the other of which it is the opposite there
thus the supersensible world which is the inverted world has at the same time
overarched the other world and has it within it
it is for itself the inverted world - i.e. - the inversion of itself - it is itself and its
opposite in one unity
only thus is it difference as an inner difference - or difference in its own self - or
difference as an infinity
COMMENTARY:
the internality and externality of thing are its dimensions -
which is to say the formal characteristics of its structure
now Hegel describes the relation of the sensible to the supersensible as inversion
do we say the inside of an entity is the inversion of the outside?
this is to give the relation a definite characterization
the idea is neat in a logical sense - i.e. it does preserve the unity of the entity and yet
define the difference in terms of perspective
and it seems to acknowledge the inside-ness of consciousness
and yes we could just say the inside of a thing is the outside - inverted
why I resist this characterization is that it seems to carry with it much metaphysical
baggage - i.e. the sensible world is in a state of flux - the supersensible the home of
the universal -
this preserves the inversion but it is clear that the idea of inversion is not the simple
geometrical one - it is metaphysically loaded
I think this is a mistake
I think we can give a simple and elegant characterization of mind and body that can be
stated in terms that shows we do not need to fill it up with extraneous metaphysical
issues and properties
that is we can say an entity has an inside and an outside - and we understand this just
as stated - the notion of inversion is not necessary to the idea of inside - to the idea of
the relation of inside to outside
what do we say of this relation?
that one is the opposite of the other?
'opposite' is easy - but like 'inversion' it seems to imply more than just an essential
relation
internality and externality are essential qualities of a thing
these qualities are distinct - internality cannot be changed into externality or visa versa
the space of these qualities is distinct - they exist in different spaces
so I would argue it is not just a matter of a different perspective in the same space -
which is the inversion argument
mind and matter are different dimensions regardless of perspective
furthermore perspective is a function of internality - internality is not a function of
perspective
the internality of a thing is awareness
awareness is not the inversion of its absence
the absence of awareness is its non-existence
the non-existence of a thing cannot be inverted
there is nothing to invert
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