'For the person or persons that hold dominion, can no more combine with the keeping up of majesty the running with harlots drunk or naked about the streets, or the performances of a stage player, or the open violation or contempt of laws passed by themselves than they can combine existence with non-existence'.

- Benedict de Spinoza. Political Treatise. 1677.




Saturday, December 27, 2014

Philosophical Grammar 105


105. “This queer thing, thought.” – It strikes us as queer when we say that it connects objects in the mind. – We are all ready to pass from it to reality. – How was it possible for thought to deal with the very person himself? Here I am being astonished by my own linguistic expression and momentarily misunderstanding it.



strange as it may sound – ‘thought’ is a proposal – ‘object’ – a proposal – ‘mind’ – a proposal

what we have here is the ‘interconnectedness’ of proposals – proposal in relation to proposals

it is not that we pass from ‘it’ – thought or mind – to reality –

we pass from proposal to proposal

granted these proposals and their interconnectedness is entrenched –  so entrenched that in common and indeed specialized parlance  – they have been – they are reified –

perhaps that is just the mark of success – as in useful propositional action

be that as it may – what we deal with is proposals – propositions – open to question – open to doubt - uncertain

‘How was it possible for thought to deal with the very person himself?’ –

what we have here is propositions dealing with propositions

‘Here I am being astonished by my own linguistic expression and momentarily misunderstanding it.’

there will be no misunderstanding here –

any ‘linguistic expression’ – is open to question – to doubt – is uncertain –

different understandings – conflicting understandings – yes

any understanding – any proposal –

is uncertain



© greg t. charlton. 2014.