Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit:
144.
ARGUMENT:
the inner truth as the absolute universal - purged of the antithesis between the
universal and the individual is the object of understanding
there now opens up above the sensuous world the world of appearance - a
supersensible world which hence forth is the true world
above the vanishing present world there opens up a permanent beyond - an itself
which is the imperfect appearance of Reason - or the only pure element in which the
truth has essence
COMMENTARY:
for Hegel the inner truth is his conception - the universal - and it is clear that this
absolute universal - is just another reflective step back - or conceptual step back from
reality as given - from the unknown
it seems he wants to say this conceptual argument of the absolute universal is an
accurate description of how the world is - a true account - that the world is not only
understood as this - but is in fact - this
as a pragmatic argument about how to understand the world in order to operate in it -
in principle I have no objection - if it works it works
but clearly for Hegel it is meant to be more than this
the 'sensuous world' is a description of 'immediate experience' - is a description of
...... etc.
my point is that we never get to gold
every description is an attempt to grasp - and an attempt that in fact finally fails
for what it is that we are trying to grasp is the unknown
we are left to fall back on some syntax - on the structure of language
this becomes our foundation - even though we realize its inadequacy - it is all we have
so whatever the reality is that we immediately (whatever this means) come to - its
understanding or its knowledge - will of necessity be a step back
we don't need to posit a supersensible world
we just need to be realistic about the tools we have at our disposal
and we need to accept the uncertainty of our situation
positing alternative realities might be practically useful in specific contexts
however the ground is the ground - dirt is dirt
and all that is done by proposing super realities - is to move the issue of uncertainty
into another context
now you might be able to con someone that in so doing you have solved a problem -
give the impression that there is now an end to it
but in fact all such a move does is restate it
now I am not against doing this - and I think as matter of course this is just what we
do in life -
but let's do it in a clear headed fashion
understanding that what you are doing is re-conceptualizing a state of affairs that is
unknown
we have to deal with the unknown - such is the purpose and function of epistemology
