| Line 678: |
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| | both of which branches it is hoped will be nearer to solid ground and | | both of which branches it is hoped will be nearer to solid ground and |
| | easier to grasp than the original question. | | easier to grasp than the original question. |
| − | </pre>
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| − |
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| − | =====1.3.5.14. The Double Aspect of Concepts=====
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| − |
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| − | <pre>
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| − | | Nothing is more erroneous than to make of
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| − | | psychical and physical phenomena the two faces,
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| − | | the two revelations of one and the same substance.
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| − | | Nothing is explained thereby: the concept "substance"
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| − | | is perfectly useless as an explanation. Consciousness in
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| − | | a subsidiary role, almost indifferent, superfluous, perhaps
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| − | | destined to vanish and give way to a perfect automatism --
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| − | |
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| − | | (Nietzsche, 'The Will to Power', S 523, 283).
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| − |
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| − | This project is a particular inquiry into the nature of inquiry in general.
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| − | As a consequence, every concept that appears in it takes on a double aspect.
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| − |
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| − | To illustrate, let us take the concept of a "sign relation" as an example
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| − | of a construct that appears in this work and let me use it to speak about
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| − | my own agency in this inquiry. All I need to say about a sign relation
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| − | at this point is that it is a three-place relation, and therefore can
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| − | be represented as a relational data-base with three columns, in this
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| − | case naming the "object", the "sign", and the "interpretant" of the
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| − | relation at each moment in time of the corresponding "sign process".
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| − |
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| − | At any given moment of this inquiry I will be participating in a certain
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| − | sign relation that constitutes the informal context of my activity, the
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| − | full nature of which I can barely hope to conceptualize in explicitly
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| − | formal terms. At times, the object of this informal sign relation
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| − | will itself be a sign relation, typically one that is already
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| − | formalized or one that I have a better hope of formalizing,
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| − | but it could conceivably be the original sign relation
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| − | with which I began.
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| − |
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| − | In such cases, when the object of a sign relation
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| − | is also a sign relation, the general concept of
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| − | a sign relation takes on a double duty:
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| − |
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| − | 1. The less formalized sign relation is used to mediate the
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| − | present inquiry. As a conceptual construct, it is not yet
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| − | fully conceived or not yet fully constructed at the moments
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| − | of inquiry being considered. Perhaps it is better to regard
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| − | it as a "concept under construction". Employed as a contextual
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| − | apparatus, this sign relation serves an instrumental role in the
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| − | construal and the study of its designated objective sign relation.
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| − |
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| − | 2. The more formalized sign relation is mentioned as a substantive object
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| − | to be contemplated and manipulated by the proceedings of this inquiry.
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| − | As a conceptual construct, it exemplifies its intended role best if it
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| − | is already as completely formalized as possible. It is being engaged
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| − | as a substantive object of inquiry.
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| − |
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| − | I have given this inquiry a reflective or recursive cast, portraying it
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| − | as an inquiry into inquiry, and one of the consequences of this picture
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| − | is that every concept employed in the work will take on a divided role,
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| − | double aspect, or dual purpose. At any moment, the object inquiry of
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| − | the moment is aimed to take on a formal definition, while the active
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| − | inquiry need not acknowledge any image that it does not recognize
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| − | as reflecting itself, nor is it bound by any horizon that does
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| − | not capture its spirit.
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| | </pre> | | </pre> |
