Changes

Solipsism is no solution to the problems of community, since even an isolated individual, if ever there were such a thing, would have to maintain the lines of communication that it takes to integrate past, present, and prospective selves — or translating everything into the present, the parts of one's actually present self that involve actual experiences and present observations, present expectations as reflective of actual memories, and present intentions as reflective of actual hopes.  So the dialogue that one holds with oneself is every bit as problematic as the dialogue that one holds with others.  Others but surprise us in other ways than we ordinarily surprise ourselves.

Solipsism is no solution to the problems of community, since even an isolated individual, if ever there were such a thing, would have to maintain the lines of communication that it takes to integrate past, present, and prospective selves — or translating everything into the present, the parts of one's actually present self that involve actual experiences and present observations, present expectations as reflective of actual memories, and present intentions as reflective of actual hopes.  So the dialogue that one holds with oneself is every bit as problematic as the dialogue that one holds with others.  Others but surprise us in other ways than we ordinarily surprise ourselves.

I recognize inquiry as beginning with a ''surprising phenomenon'' or a ''problematic situation'', more briefly described as a ''surprise'' or a ''problem'', respectively.  These are the types of moments that try our souls, the instances of events that instigate inquiry as an effort to achieve their own resolution.  Surprises and problems are experienced as afflicted with an irritating uncertainty or a compelling difficulty, one that calls for a response on the part of the agent in question:

I recognize inquiry as beginning with a ''surprising phenomenon'' or a ''problematic situation'', more briefly described as a ''surprise'' or a ''problem'', respectively.  These are the kinds of moments that try our souls, the instances of events that instigate inquiry as an effort to achieve their own resolution.  Surprises and problems are experienced as afflicted with an irritating uncertainty or a compelling difficulty, one that calls for a response on the part of the agent in question:

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Expressed another way, inquiry begins with a doubt about one's object, whether this means what is true of a case, an object, or a world, what to do about reaching a goal, or whether the hoped-for goal is really good for oneself &mdash; with all that these questions lead to in essence, in deed, or in fact.

Expressed another way, inquiry begins with a doubt about one's object, whether this means what is true of a case, an object, or a world, what to do about reaching a goal, or whether the hoped-for goal is really good for oneself &mdash; with all that these questions lead to in essence, in action, or in fact.

Perhaps there is an inexhaustible reality that issues in these apparent mysteries and recurrent crises, but, by the time I say this much, I am already indulging in a finite image, a hypothesis about what is going on.  If nothing else, then, one finds again the familiar pattern, where the formative relation between the informal and the formal merely serves to remind one anew of the relation between the infinite and the finite.

Perhaps there is an inexhaustible reality that issues in these apparent mysteries and recurrent crises, but, by the time I say this much, I am already indulging in a finite image, a hypothesis about what is going on.  If nothing else, then, one finds again the familiar pattern, where the formative relation between the informal and the formal merely serves to remind one anew of the relation between the infinite and the finite.