第 4 节
作者:
匆匆 更新:2021-02-27 02:11 字数:9317
and hidden。 In the silent regions of thought which has come to itself and communes only with itself;
the interests which move the lives of races and individuals are hushed。
'In so many respects'; says Aristotle in the same context; 'the nature of man is in bondage; but this
science; which is not studied for its utility; is the only absolutely free science and seems therefore
to be a more than human possessions Philosophical thinking in general is still concerned with
concrete objects…God; nature; spirit; but logic is concerned only and solely with these thoughts as
thoughts; in their complete abstraction。 For this reason it is customary; to include logic in the
curriculum of youth; for youth is not yet involved in the practical affairs of life; living at leisure
so far as they are concerned; and it is only for its own subjective ends that it has to busy itself with
acquiring the means to enable it to become actively engaged with the objects of those practical
interests…and still theoretically even with these。 Contrary to Aristotle's view just mentioned; the
science of logic is included in these means; the study of logic is a preliminary labour to be carried
out in school and it is not until later that the serious business of life and the pursuit of substantial
ends begins。
In life; the categories are used; from the honour of being contemplated for their own sakes they
are degraded to the position where they serve in the creation and exchange of ideas involved in
intellectual exercise on a living content。 First they serve as abbreviations through their universality
(for what a host of particulars of outer existence and actions is embraced by a conception —
battle; war; nation; ocean or animal; for example — and in the conception of God or of love there
is epitomised in the simplicity of such ideating an infinite host of ideas; actions; states; etc。!)。
Secondly; the categories serve for the more exact determination and discovery of objective
relations; but in this process the import and purpose; the correctness and truth of the thought
involved; are made to depend entirely on the subject matter itself and the thought determinations
are not themselves credited with any active part in determining the content。 Such a use of
categories; which above was called natural logic; is unconscious; and when in philosophical
reflection the categories are assigned the role of serving as means; then thinking as such is treated
as something subordinate to the other activities of mind。 We do not indeed say of our feelings;
impulses or interests that they serve us; rather do they count as independent forces and powers; so
that to have this particular feeling; to desire this; is what we are。? But probably we are more
conscious of obeying our feelings; impulses; passions; interests; not to mention habits; than of
having them in our possession; still less; in view of our intimate union with them; of their being at
our disposal。 Such determinations of feeling and mind soon show themselves as particular in
contrast to the universality which we are conscious ourselves of being and in which we have our
freedom; and we are disposed to regard ourselves as caught up in these particular states and
dominated by them。
Consequently it is much more difficult to believe that the forms of thought which permeate all our
ideas — whether these are purely theoretical or contain a matter belonging to feeling; impulse; will
— are means for us; rather than that we serve them; that in fact they have us in their possession;
what is there more in us as against them; how shall we; how shall I; set myself up as more
universal than they; which are universal as such?
When we give ourselves up to a sensation; a purpose; an interest; and in it feel ourselves confined
and unfree; the place into which we can withdraw ourselves back into freedom is this region of
self…certainty; of pure abstraction; of thought。 Or again; to speak of things; we call the nature or
the essence of things their notion; and this is only for thought; but still less shall we say of the
notions of things that we dominate them; or that the determinations of thought of which they are the
complex are at our service; on the contrary; it is our thinking that must accommodate itself to them
and our caprice or freedom ought not to want to mould them to suit itself。
Since; therefore; subjective thought is our very own; innermost; act; and the objective notion of
things constitutes their essential import; we cannot go outside this our act; we cannot stand above
it; and just as little can we go beyond the nature of things。 We can however disregard the latter
determination; in so far as it coincides with the first it would yield a relation of our thoughts to the
object; but this would be a valueless result because it would imply that the thing; the object; would
be set up as a criterion for our notions and yet for us the object can be nothing else but our notions
of it。 The way in which the critical philosophy understands the relationship of these three terms is
that we place our thoughts as a medium instead of connecting us with the objects rather cuts us off
from them。 But this view can be countered by the simple observation that these very things which
are supposed to stand beyond us; and at the other extreme; beyond the thoughts referring to them;
are themselves figments of subjective thought; and as wholly indeterminate they are only a single
thought…thing — the so…called thing…in…itself of empty abstraction。?
Still; sufficient has been said of the point of view which no longer takes the determinations of
thought to be only an instrument and a means; more important is the further point connected with
it; namely that it is usual to regard them as an external form。 The activity of thought which is at
work in all our ideas; purposes; interests and actions is; as we have said; unconsciously busy
(natural logic); what we consciously attend to is the contents; the objects of our ideas; that in
which we are interested; on this basis; the determinations of thought have the significance of forms
which are only attached to the content; but are not the content itself。 But if the truth of the matter is
what we have already stated and also is generally admitted; namely that the nature; the peculiar
essence; that which is genuinely permanent and substantial in the complexity and contingency of
appearance and fleeting manifestation; is the notion of the thing; the immanent universal; and
that each human being though infinitely unique is so primarily because he is a man; and each
individual animal is such individual primarily because it is an animal: if this is true; then it would be
impossible to say what such an individual could still be if this
foundation were removed; no matter how richly endowed the individual might be with other
predicates; if; that is; this foundation can equally be called a predicate like the others。 The
indispensable foundation; the notion; the universal which is the thought itself; in so far as one can
make abstraction from the general idea expressed by the word 'thought'; cannot be regarded as
only an indifferent form attached to a content。 But these thoughts of everything natural and
spiritual; even the substantial content ; still contain a variety of determinatenesses and are still
charged with the difference of a soul and a body; of the notion and a relative reality; the
profounder basis is the soul itself; the pure Notion which is the very heart of things; their simple
life…pulse; even of subjective thinking of them。
To focus attention on this logical nature which animates mind; moves and works in it; this is the
task。 The broad distinction between the instinctive act and the intelligent and free act is that the
latter is performed with an awareness of what is being done; when the content of the interest in
which one is absorbed is drawn out of its immediate unity with oneself and becomes an
independent object of one's thinking; then it is that spirit begins to be free; whereas when thinking
is an instinctive activity; spirit is enmeshed in the bonds of its categories and is broken up into an
infinitely varied material。
Here and there in this mesh there are firm knots which give stability and direction to the life and
consciousness of spirit; these knots or nodes owe their fixity and power to the simple fact that
having been brought before consciousness; they are independent; self…existent Notions of its
essential nature。 The most important point for the nature of spirit is not only the relation of what it
is in itself to what it is actually; but the relation of what it knows itself to be to what it actually is;
because spirit is essentially consciousness; this self…knowing is a fundamental determination of its
actuality。
As impulses the categories are only instinctively active。 At first they enter consciousness separately
and so are variable and mutually confusing; consequently they afford to mind only a fragmentary
and uncertain actuality; the loftier business of logic therefore is to clarify these categories and in
them to raise mind to freedom and truth。
What we indicated as the b