I take the view that the object of knowledge -
of the question of knowing - is the unknown
we do not begin at this understanding -
the world as is - as presented is on first impression
without question
it is only upon reflection that doubts emerge
this can come from any direction -
and we need to understand that the empiricist and
rationalist idea of some sort of clean slate -
or clear and distinct position - is not what we
are born into
we come to a very different world - one in which
different systems of thought are operative and ingrained
and it becomes intellectually apparent that not everything
put to us can be true
investigation of this leads one way or another to something
like first principles - different ideas about the basis of
it all
and those who take on these matters in a fundamental way
will be led to question the very basis of knowledge itself -
sceptical arguments at this level of inquiry - can be quite
devastating - Descartes for one never recovered from his
own inquiry
usually we see a desperate pulling back from the abyss -
God has always been useful if not convincing on this issue
but the real thing about getting to the point of serious
scepticism is just what it tells us
it tells us that what we face finally is the unknown
the unknown is the object of knowledge -
and I want to make a further point here -
the unknown is true objectivity
everything before this point - all our ideas - theories -
understandings - knowledge in short - are attempts to defy
the one common final truth
our subjectivity consists in everything we know
our objectivity is the unknown just beyond every conception -
and the final reason for the first and last thought
