phenomenology of mind-第70节
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consciousness possesses reason。 Consciousness; as well as self…consciousness; is in itself properly
reason in an implicit form; but only that consciousness can be said to have reason whose object
has the character of being the category。 From this; however; we must still distinguish the
knowledge of what reason is。
The category; which is the immediate unity of being and self (Seyn und Seinen); must traverse both
forms; and the conscious attitude of observation is just where the category is set forth in the form
of being。 In its result; consciousness expresses that; whose unconscious implicit certainty it is; in
the shape of a proposition — the proposition which lies in the very notion of reason。 This
proposition is the infinite judgment that the self is a thing — a judgment that cancels and transcends
itself。
Through this result; then; the category gets the added characteristic of being this self…cancelling
opposition。 The 〃pure〃 category; which is present to consciousness in the form of being or
immediacy; is still an unmediated; a merely given object; and the attitude of consciousness is also
direct; has no mediation in it。 That infinite judgment is the moment which is the transition of
immediacy into mediation or negativity。 The given present object is therefore characterized as a
negative object while consciousness in its relation towards it assumes the form of
self…consciousness; or the category; which traversed the form of being in the process of
observation; is now set up in the form of self…existence。 Consciousness no longer seeks to find
itself immediately; but to produce itself by its own activity。 Consciousness itself is the purpose and
end of its own action; as in the process of observation it had to do merely with things。
The other meaning of the result is the one already considered; that of unsystematic (begrifflos)
observation。 This has no other way of understanding and expressing itself than by declaring the
reality of self…consciousness to consist in the skull…bone; just as it appears in the form of a thing of
sense; still retaining its character as an object for consciousness。 In stating this; however; it has no
clear consciousness as to what the statement involves; and does not grasp the determinate
character of the subject and predicate in the proposition and of their relation to one another; still
less does it grasp the proposition in the sense of a self…resolving infinite judgment and a notion。
Rather; in virtue of a deeper…lying self…consciousness of mind; which has the appearance here of
being an innate decency and honesty of nature; it conceals from itself the ignominiousness of such
an irrational crude thought a that of taking a bone for the reality of self…consciousness; and the very
senselessness of introducing all sorts of relations of cause and effect; symbol〃; 〃organ〃; etc。; which
are perfectly meaningless here; and of hiding away the glaring folly of the proposition behind
distinctions derived from them — all this puts a gloss on that thought and whitewashes its naked
absurdity。
Brain…fibres and the like; looked at as forms of the being of mind; are already an imagined; a
merely hypothetical actuality of mind — not its presented reality; not its felt; seen; in short not its
true reality。 If they are present to us; if they are seen; they are lifeless objects; and then no longer
pass for the being of mind。 But its objectivity proper must take an immediate; a sensuous form; so
that in this objectivity qua lifeless — for the bone is lifeless so far as the lifeless is found in the living
being itself — mind is established as actual。
The principle involved in this idea is that reason claims to be all thinghood; even thinghood of a
purely objective kind。 It is this; however; in conceptu: or; only this notion is the truth of reason;
and the purer the notion itself is; the more silly an idea does it become; if its content does not take
the shape of a notion (Begriff) but of a mere presentation or idea (Vorstellung)…if the
self…superseding judgment is not taken with the consciousness of this its infinity; but is taken as a
stable and permanent proposition; the subject and predicate of which hold good each on its own
account; self fixed as self; thing as thing; while one has to be the other all the same。
Reason; essentially the notion; is immediately parted asunder into itself and its opposite; an
opposition which just for that reason is immediately again superseded。 But if it presents itself in this
way as both itself and its opposite; and if it is held fast in the entirely isolated moment of this
disintegration; reason is apprehended in an irrational form; and the purer the moments of this
opposition are; the more glaring is the appearance of this content; which is either alone for
consciousness; or alone expressed ingenuously by consciousness。
The 〃depth〃 which mind brings out from within; but carries no further than to make it a
presentation (Vorstellung); and let it remain at this level — and the 〃ignorance〃 on the part of this
consciousness as to what it really says; are the same kind of connexion of higher and lower which;
in the case of the living being; nature na?vely expresses when it combines the organ of its highest
fulfilment; the organ of generation; with the organ of urination。 The infinite judgment qua infinite
would be the fulfilment of life that comprehends itself; while the consciousness of the infinite
judgment that remains at the level of presentation corresponds to urination。
1。 Cp。 With Hegel's analysis Erdmann's Psychologische Briefe; Br。 9。
2。 A critic of physiognomy in über Physiognomik; 2Au f。 G?ttingen; 1778; p。 35。
3。 i。e。 the relation of self…consciousness to external reality。
4。 Cp。 There is no art to find the mind's construction in the face。 Macbeth;; Act。 I。 4。
5。 This refers to the claims put forward by Lavater; whose work was entitled Physiognomische
Fragmente zur Bef?rderung der Menschenkenntniss und Menschenliebe。 Leipzig; 1775…8。
6。 〃Everyday Physiognomy〃 would be the familiar procedure of mankind; civilized and uncivilized;
in diving or supposing what is in a man's mind from bodily expressions…e。g。 the tone of his voice;
the lineaments (natural and acquired) of his face; the play of his features; or even in general the
conformation of his body。 The procedure is instinctive; but it also leads to rough and ready
judgments of experience which are used for guidance in everyday social life。
7。 Tim?us; 71; 72。
8。 v。 above; p。 349。
B
The Realisation of Rational Self…Consciousness through its
Own Activity
SELF…CONSCIOUSNESS found the 〃thing〃 in the form of itself; and itself in the form of a thing;
that is to say; self…consciousness is explicitly aware of being in itself the objective reality。 It is no
longer the immediate certainty of being all reality; it is rather a kind of certainty for which the
immediate in general assumes the form of something sublated; so that the objectivity of the
immediate is regarded now merely as something superficial whose inner core and essence is
self…conscious consciousness。
The object; therefore; to which self…consciousness is positively related; is a self…consciousness。
The object has the form and character of thinghood; i。e。 is independent: but self…consciousness has
the conviction that this independent object is not alien to itself; it knows herewith that itself is
inherently (an sich) recognized by the object。 Self…consciousness is mind; which has the assurance
of having; in the duplication of its self…consciousness and in the independence of both; its unity with
its own self。 This certainty has to be brought out now before the mind in all its truth; what
self…consciousness holds as a fact; viz。 that implicitly in itself and in its inner certainty it is; has to
enter into its consciousness and become explicit for it。
What the general stages of this actualization will be can be indicated in a general way by reference
to the road thus far traversed。 Just as reason; when exercised in observation; repeated in the
medium of the category the movement of 〃consciousness〃 as such; namely; sense…certainty; (1)
perception; (2) and understanding; (3) the course of reason here; too; will again traverse the double
movement of 〃self…consciousness〃; and from independence pass over into its freedom。 To begin
with; this active reason is aware of itself merely as an individual〃; and must; being such; demand
and bring forth its reality in an 〃other〃。 Thereafter; however; its consciousness being lifted into
universality; it becomes universal reason; and is consciously aware of itself as reason; as something
already recognized in and for itself; which within its pure consciousness unites all
self…consciousness。 It is the simple ultimate spiritual reality (Wesen); which; by coming at the same
time to consciousness; is the real substance; into which preceding forms return and in which they
find their ground; so that they are; as contrasted with reference to the latter; merely particular
moments of the process of its coming into being; moments which indeed bre