V
62. “That’s him” – that
contains the whole problem of representation.
I make a plan: I see myself acting thus and so. “How do I know that it’s
myself?” Or “How do I know that the word ‘I’ stands for me?”
The delusion that in thought the objects do what the proposition states
about them.
“I meant the victor of Austerlitz” – the past tense, which looks as if
it was giving a description, is deceptive.
‘ “That’s him” – that contains
the whole problem of representation’?
‘What is the criterion, how is it to be verified, that this picture is
the portrait of that object, i.e. that is meant to represent it? ….’
there is no problem here – and the problem is not representation
‘that’s him’ – is a proposal –
and like any proposal – open to question – open to doubt –
any proposal – any proposition is uncertain
‘I make a plan: I see myself acting thus and so. “How do I know that
it’s myself?” Or “How do I know that the word ‘I’ stands for me?” ’
how do I know it’s myself?
I see myself acting thus and so –
spoken or not – what we have here is a proposal – nothing more – nothing
less
I use a form of words – commonly in use and commonly understood–
yet if you care to reflect on it – questions emerge – doubts emerge
my knowledge – just is what I propose –
and that is – open to question – open to doubt –
knowledge is uncertain
how do I know the ‘I’ stands for me?
I make that the proposal – that is all
‘The delusion that in thought the objects do what the proposition states
about them’?
the only person who has this delusion is the one who doesn’t think
it’s open to question – always
– whether a proposition functions as intended –
the world we live in is uncertain
and indeed different description give different accounts of what objects
do -
compare an artists description of what a table does – to that of a
physicist –
let alone someone sitting at it having breakfast
‘ “I meant the victor of Austerlitz” – the past tense, which looks as if
it was giving a description, is deceptive.’?
‘The past tense is deceptive,
because it looks as if it was giving a description of what went on “inside me”
while I was uttering the sentence’
well yes – it can be interpreted
that way – but that is just the point –
any proposal – any proposition –
can be variously interpreted –
the question is – whether that
interpretation makes sense – has function
in the context in which it is used –
I would think it does –
at the same time yes – a
different proposal – one that is
not suggestive of the ‘what happens inside me’ – might do just as well – and in
some contexts – be more appropriate – more useful
that’s how it goes
© greg t. charlton. 2014.
