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THB
GROWIN {;
~
~ N ' : C I J R
OF
K N O W L 1 9 , D
~ a •
.
,
•
NawLEDGE GROWS
wim
~ u a i t i t l ~ adw•ng
e d ~
ige
.
'
The
e0ütani m ~ ~ J t í t l i ~ ~ t i , 0 1 1
of
tacü,
:)} ~ ) n e ~ g ~ I
l.ig l 6 m s e
m : s
m0ie
e c i d @ t ~ w1ii@ñ leaéil ¡n. t f t ~ tlltA 10 general: um PJ.edsfi
ñf0DRatio11, iS the
speeWar
preces
in
our
Jªmito>B.
l t
~ l m s
p l a ~ .J re &e.
points
of
flewdít
- F ~ - t , ,
· ~
Ws
J#0Wth
~
rélii
s t
t r ~
0í
bewkdgo
i t
- f 1 l ~ s t ~ P@. 'if t1HW IBBR
\J ¡p_r0JifeJátioB
of
G t B s d h @ i e m ~ ~ . ·
~ t
m l J.e ftilleÍ ' ~ s . J l í ~ ,.en as kmnaa
m
9 l t e > l ~ t > ~ S . S
~
{ ( f ~ J l ~ • ~
' 1 l e wáole 1
0iilY41'.6' b' ~ ~ 1 ~
flllr&
se. l f > ~ ~
·
f
l
~
llD
0>ct,.
nii
m
G . W 4 i
a¡
t ke
emJmril
rnenra
·
t
• ~ p c i s e s t h i i 9 ~ -
rt1m ~ h t e i 00:rd, aatl
he:
J J ~ a l o r ~
oj si¡\t
U l . ~ :keaiin . ~
n t i i r ~ l v
0f
. - ~ Y s
4iifs · 1Me
~
•
~ e n t t a l netv 'IU ~ Y : B a A ~
l y B t g its oo11S. f i " r 0 ~ o
-
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• •
f
••• '
.
124
Philosophicai
Sketehes ·
tially the same nerve cells we started
with
at birth. ·
(There
are a few ~ e r v e s , for instance
in
the face,
that
repair their
ti
ssue,
but
in general destroyed nen'e cells
can
never
be replaced.)
The
nervous system has no
''growing
edge."
Yet
obviously
the
nervous system
of
a
man
is bigger
than that
of a baby.
It has
grown somebow.
The
brain
is
bigger, though proportionately not much,
and the
spinal cqrd is longer.
The
nerves that reach the man's
fingers have fartber to go than they used to.
In
the eon
trolling central organ tbere is a different kind
0f
incre.ase
- n o t
by
addition of
new cells
at the n.
erve
.
encls
or
m:a
the
surface
of the
brain,
but
by
grewth.
of
the
(§)ri.
9i1
f
a1
cells themselves. They stretch.
They
sttretch: ~ 0 k e ~ p ,
~
~
e
with
the growing .society of tlte ·eells ~ a t &wcle a e
mllt
l
tiply,
and
that extend
the compass of the
li>o·dy
as
a
&Jj)W
ing
population. exte:nds
the compass of
a
c i ~ , s l i : t 0 • l ~ ' - ~
suburb. The nervous system is a g r < J W , ~ n g eelíllteP,,
~ a t
bolds all
the
. advaneing other parts in mutual a J J l i a m ~
~
as
one organism, living one life.
In the cultural life of our day--one of the vecy s ~ J f i i ..
'ing days in man's
history-the most
breathtakdng
e ~
~ t
arise
from
the
sudden
i n c r e a s ~ of scie:atifie k
º w 1 ~ 1 3 . í
g ~ .
One discovery
Iea ~
t
iiin
whiob. e ~ e r i e n e ~ t e : s "
its
neeali'
0f
t ~ a m ~
•
l
aw
.:
~ 0 w l e c t l g e of, ~ ~ s
~
f efll¡UJjsite Ji0r._e_; ~ y t f
~
~
IVJ.Dg ~ ~ · d 1 v
t
~ e • e . l J l ~ . - - · ·
~
~ , .- ,
• ...
••
• ' ¡ • •
.r" ,· ....
...
. ···*.
•I
' ' j, •i, • ... . ' • .. -
.,
..
I' . ~ .
· · ~ i - 1 · , • . l
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.
''
, .
t h ~
G rowing l f m l l l t
is
a m0•eatuy
f ; J ,
pan
:
.
01
bis
0 ~
ae&w"
,..
~ e l r
< 1 e i 1
hy
.
plfe'W.ous
e ~ r l e n e e .
,
~
t R t m J " .• a1>1111 ~ ~ h - - a ~ k
as
a ' ' p ~ ' ' eac
:.- sfetll fí6>.W • ~ ~
~ t i o J t e e s
i@l lt not p ~
•
' ~ 1 1 ~ 1 1 i l i ' • t) ¡ : ) . h . ~ t i . ~ ~ . w ' ~ •
~ ~ ~
~ ~
¡ 1 1 . ~ ' "
;@
il
I Q . y • p ~ ~
l D s mtl
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26
Philosophica 1 Sketches
things
in
their relations to each other,
have
no
part
in his
perception. The world is something human.
What makes the difference is the peculiar tendency
of the human brain to
use
the
sense impressions
it
re-
.
ceives
not
only as stimuli
or
obstacles
to
physical action,
but
"1S
material
for
its specialized function, imagination.
We not
only see t:hings,
but at the same
time imagine
them
to have
all sorts of properties
that one ~ a n n o t
see.
Ani-
mals
respond
to
outside stimuli
either
overtly
or
,not
at
all;
but
roen respond largely
in
a cerebral, invisible way
producing
images, notions, figments
of
all sorts
that
serve as symbols for ideas.
The result
is that
we
llive in
·a
web
of
ideas, a fabric
of our
own making wherein we
catch the contributions
of
outside reality, sights, sounc¡Js
smells,
and
so on. Actual perceptions
come
and go,
and
are
beyond our control ( except in so far as we may
open
. or
shut our
eyes, touch things or not, ane
cause
a f-ew
changes
to
happen),
but
symbols ma.y
be found or
pne
duced
at
will,
and manipulated
with
great freedom;
by
means
of
them
we
supplement our fragmentary sensa
tions
and
build
up around each p e r c e p t u a
~ ce:re
a
stne
ture
of. ideas. That is i le
sense
of s
we
h&ve
icle,as
about what we
actually
see.
The symbolic rendering of experience
is
a v-ast ft0t Jic
that
we
cannot
possibly
enter
on.
kere. A
goocd
éeal
has
oeen
and is
still being writtea a@eu,t
it, fer die
i m ¡ p o r t a 1 ~ « i . i e
of symbolization is a recent discovery. Suffioe
it, t h ~
· to
touch the
high
points
of ·
that
all-ilnportant
proce_ss. fts
most spectacular product is
the great systematic sym.
bolism known as
'language,
w h i ~ h
engem.cders
& e wh01e
1
mental
a e v ~ l e p m e a t
~ : h a r t
s
mea
apalJit
ú0m
éek
m
logical bretluea. The line between ooima1s and men ts
I
think,
precisely the language
line.
(Animals p r o 1 b a ~ 1 y
comm11nicate only intentions and direot emotionall
citements,
not ideas aboue
tbings.) Lattgl Jage sewes
~ a r
gxreater
pmposes than eveB
tlllle
most
e1ahe>l(ate s¡s
,tem
0f
sigaals
whereby
we
might
make
ow
wish.es
bi0wn
ud.
•control each other's behavior. Its first and most astound-
ing ñmction
is
to shape the human wotld.
Sense
perceptions are otdy part
of
the
wor1d.
lhey.
are
indispensable elem:eats:, llat by no aeans
ita
·•1101e·
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The Gr.oWi1}8
e n t ~
of
Knowledge
substance.
~ e
world .for
human bein¡s is
made
up of
facts and
facts
are as
much
a
product
of
CODCeption
88
.
of
perception. Facts are
about tbings, aa our immediate
; knewledge
is about our sensory
experiences. Our
world
·: is
not
a
random
collection
of
things,
but
a
great
nexvs
of
physical facts, hist9rlcal
lacts,,
legal
and
political facts,
and
especially,
f0r
e.a& person,
tibe ever
.approaching
phalanx
of practica f.acts that
he
has
to meet from hom
.
to hour.
What
we
call
the w0rld is a conceptual struc-
.
~ u r e o ~ s p ~ c e and
t i m e ~
whic'.h events
oecur,
and
develop
i.nto sttuaüens i:rr0m wmelll mew,, more
01
h:ss ~ _
events airise; this d e ~
e l o p x n e l l l . t
is
tlh.e order
of cause ami.
effect as
we
conceive
it,
and
wb.at
deve1ops
is
reality
tho
web
of facts. '
Reality
contains
all
the
cdelivermces of
euc
senses
but
its
kamework
is not soxuthmg
visible,, tangible,
~
in
any sensuous way perceptible. Its framework
is some
•f,
hing
intellectual, perceptible
only through
symbols. To
say
it
is
intelleetual
is
not to
say
it
is
reserved fer
an
in-
teligeatsia,
0r
even.
for
ci\'IÍ.Üed
races;
a
common
intel
leotuality
belolJ, gs to all
human beings
that
are
not
men
talfJ.y
defective, rand
~ r e s s e s
itself on
their e ~ r i e n c e at
tihe
e1ementaiey
revei
\ ) ~ undersltandlmg
w e ~ d s
' lft
is
sometimes
s ~ d
that wmds staud frOXJ. for
th;np
aná
a©ts, an.d
1hat
consequently
a dog
.
o
wh.om a
word
means
an
ebjeet, a
person,
or
an
act
to
be
pedonned
understands
language. But tlhat
is a sUpshod argument
and false
oonclusie:n. The woird'S dlaiti
a ill
use
ol
Jm.
guarge, b ~ oo:nítma.6ti
is esseatdalJ ~ e
e-ress ideas
ahut
6.e t bágs mentielle'&-to call attention
t0 their rela·
tioas, parits,
piroperties, aspects,
and functions, and to
the
:
mtricate relations · of those constituents
and'
fnnctiou to
r e ~ h o ~ ~ .
. ·
R.elations
are
fmown
to
us
primarll) l
tb.roup
ow.-
most ready 8110 pGwerful
Sym.bols.
Thous\ n •
.plicitly ta1e aGCOunt of xelations
in
acíi911 c m p ~
..capnot be
out d p q i n t e ~
to
1ib phyefoal
•
.
.
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128 1
Philosophical
S k e t c h ~ $
Set up a large fiowerpot and · a small one,
and
try
to
point out the
relation
of
"larger
tbann: a· person looking
where:·you point-from one pot
to
the other-may
see
"different," "same shape," "side by s i d ~ , " "brick-col-
ored," or
even
two, a
pair,"
as readily as "larger than,."
Relations are abstráct,
and
abstract entities
are
em-
bod.ied only in -symbols. The profound difference be-
tween speech-gifted beings
and
s p e e c h l ~ s s
o n e ~ is due t0
the power
of words to set forth relations, which cannot
be seen and touched, yet are the bonds
among
our. sensa...
tions that crea te "facts." Our world of fácts 1s sh0t
·
through
and through with concépts comprehen.ded sy,;_m..
bolically;
"nature"
is
far
more
a
languaige-ina eiaes
1
ideation.fails.
At
the
center ef h·umain
eX perie:n.ee, them., tae'Je
is a[\..
ways the activity of ima:gining reality,
c©l leeivin::g
ti:e
structure
of
thr-0ugh word·s,
images,
or 0ther s}'ftl hei&-)]
and assimilating .actual
perceptioms
to
it
as they
C © J l l l l ~
that
is, interpreting them
in t h ~
light ·of general, usually
tacit ideas. This process 'of interpretation is so aatmllall
and
constant
that
most
oi
it goes on unconseiausly-.
h •
stead of having .sensati©ns and judgin.g them to
' m . e ~ H
·the existence of things or the
occu«emce
ei
ev.ents,,
•e
really
perceive th,ings
an
.d
hap¡penings and ee:eeme it•
rectly
aware
of
"faGt'S."
lb.e w l t © ~ e m t e H e ~ t U i d
'kfflt U-
work of space a·nd tiim-e, ~ g s ama
f>1101
etáes,,
~ A ~
cause amd
eftee:t,
· 3 9'
d
sG> .
©B,
is imfDctt
ií.till li1 ~ e l i ' ~ J
-
we
use 0111" sepes. . f l l l ~ , t M e ~ p t
i @ B
1 9 > ~
· r ~ l ~ t i i r © l t l J S
0 D M e ' • ~ e l f '
am< i. esp€cia1llr ©f· m'lf'á1it n.rc, taikes pJtce tlmt
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The Grow Jig Cent'81' of. l n11Wla.dat1 129
.of cetuJ"Se,·do hµrnm tetlan;g aaf ••mtoa Slti.eo ou ea.
vironment
is
a
;WQ:tla, we illW'e
hh 'mt
t&Wb'd
the
wot'kt
- n o t transient exoi'temeDts" '.fl)l1t a p ~ & J D . e m t
omot oaali
attitude toward a permanat
''larlven&."
1lüa
att1tude
is
the
deepest level ef leelisg i:n ll:S, by v1rtue of wb:fd)
we
have
a
continuous
emetiG>llti
llite;
an.d,
like
all
h111man
feelings, it is closeliy relatei
to
im«igiuati.en.
l t is fed, ID
each pe'FSon,
by
bis e n w i a & ~ i t
Gf the woda,
ad of
human
1ife,
aad
of h i m ~ ~ a
1 hat
~ a m e : :1ñ'9lt is :to aay
by hiis
orieni.tation lm
i__e:a1 ty.
Hi.s
~ · t t • e e s may be
m a n ~ 0r t ~ w ;
sa long as &.11 • e
ea,able of
i n t e r p ~ t a
..
tion. • ienlilS ef e 0 1 1 r u 1 1 1 ~ l 1 l : . aCJJ l$l, hii-s
bewted¡e el realty
e •
1
g¡0w
illlst
1t>J
~ .
laQ._,
~ 0 1 1 1 1
~ h • l f a s
filia
w&tld
•aige 01 ' 1 . S t t ~ g
'8
ae1l>.Be $f
Gldemtatioa,. whiol 1
is
a i l ~ a r . 1 &
e ~ ~ ~ l > 1 l ~
m
a
~ - I M
Be te
l e ~ .
tD0lbm09 se'J l'>Se is
lle neenseioas Ee
wE:tat
we
ree0gmd&e
as tensible,
10gical thiinild m.g teday. llt'8 giraa'lla1 development is
ie
ftected m
hé evoll:ltioñ.
@f l&t >.tguages,
a fascmating
deld of
s ~ u d y tkat has only
receDbly eeea opemea
amd
promiaes
to be riela
m
new histeliliea[
,
ooi psy;oliu)logicalL material&.
P ~ 0 s o p h . e r s , ito0, have h . a R e s ~ e c ltiheim shue f ideas
fii0m
die
J.inguiists'
llO\W
19'.eKekes,
Wlüeh
e@iaoide
with
tite
gx¡eait
work
0f
l f ' l ~ g e ,
t f l e i ~
ae:El ltussel
e•
ltori1
s ~ ~ 0 l s 1 0 0 l , ,
effi
C•smer
ea ~ 1 D l l i c
~ m u as
ftia 9J"e
f"Qe•ia:J
· ~ · lis seaUJi\lc
·
f te
U ~ é
0f
W ~ d S ~ ' S •s 8 •ate:1 ~ f e • t s Jm). .
1 ~ e ; ' 1 1 . d
f0Rl&f:
&e i \ f a f • " m . . • s ~ tW f edsieD
:&.
&e
tt.m..
t io1 díe'
dmw
I t a ~ •
~ n e
d\íaa
Mttt
aa&tltit
lllA)t
&e seen im ~ e i i i r
e i ] l e i e ~
0f
~
:we1Gls
'hr
theae
6111g
01
itikei.r temde-n;c'
te
tei
••
wcaull &ewe m&J P'U90n;
anclt ~ l m t iA s
•eamQs
Wltd re\d takng aoooWl>.ít of rolewat
d i i i ~ e i l e e s .
D e
.
eentem
ed aUellAia ame
muked
bf
tb.t
~ ' a r & y
woP'4s'., m
drMt 4tsmuae--aous in
._
SU ltepeao.
la1/lfguiages, l:el:Et ~ e l l t e s
bJ
vein
tlba
_
ífoc01me
Qrlill" ~ W U a e s s
d
11QIJJton1, ad
elabor8'14
.m.0C IW:e1s 4le
. Xipiress Mttter
diS)laoti.DU.
ntere
m
\ tlMl.g\tiaige:& mwhiida
ae:tns
• • aamecl ' dte ''l
:
un l
Bliop ·
u , ~ l \ t t e l ¡
RtlUBeif. ;q
°
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J . ~ .
130 , P h i l o s o p h z c ~ l ~ k ~ ; c h ; ; f
the
actions, that is, by modifiers. Societies . that differ :
.
radically in the Iogical structure of their languages liavé
really
·ª
different inheritance
of
'common sense, .and their
mutual understanding presents a deeper problem than
they themselves reaJire wheii. they establish a rough ·
vocabulary
to
serve
both
parties
in
commerce with
eaeB
otber.
The
words of that vocabulary have a
core of
practica meaning
for
both, but the connotations that
accrue to a word
in
the ·cour:se
of
its career probably tend
to
grow
apart
as long as each group contiDues to
li:ve
with
its own language.
The
power
of
language
to
keep
step
with
the
expan-
sion
of
human
experience through
the
long course
of
history lies
in
the tendency
of
words to·mean. ~ o J . i e tha11
they designate, oí symbolize directly;
for
they tend t0
symbolize indirectly anything
f
or which their direct mean-
ing itself m y be a symbol. The word
"light" designates
·a physical phenomenon
we
perceive ~ b _ 0ur
&y;es,
~ u l
light itself
is
a world-old symbol
for
lcnowledge, intelli-
gence, reason, logical intuition
(John Locke
called sucll
intuition natural light'') , ·and a lsG fer a ~ a r g e class
0f
feelings-joy, relief, l o ~ e , aafd reirgi.0us exa11.ítrmtiien:. M
things
that
light itself
commonly
symfuolizes _
me
t€l
the
word
''light,"
as
its
metaphoric
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The
Grbwini
.Center o Knowlidge
131
and
this ~ a ~ e
may
mean
a feeling,
an
aot,
an
object, ev:en
~
p e ~ s o ~ a 1 i t y
or a placy.
An
:sorts o .
tkin,gs
ma.y appear
e'
in
thz-s image a t
is, they
may
be
itllitgineá in tms
fetm.
ts The essence of human mentality is
the
use of · images
· not as sh.eer ~ e m o r y traees, but
as
symbols vtbich may
~
~
put
together
mee1y,
e l a m ~ a t e < l . , ,
anti tfeated
as meatal
~
p t c t a ~ ~ s
~
tibe
mest v a ~ u _ s
e x p ~ e J 1 l e e s ,
i . e . ~ the power
Qf
seemg
one
thing
in
anothu.
< • The
processes
-0f
nature, especially,
may
be
seen one
•· m a n . o t h ~ r ;
and
th0se whi:eh
aii:e
brid
to observe are
í '
generally underst00d 0nly
W0ughi a
mooel.
Deatb is seen
as
~ e t e m ~ sleep, youth
and
age
as
spring
and auhimo
e
~ t e r
life as
a
fiame
~ n s 1 1 m i n ; g ;
the
canQle
that pro-
vises it. The
w:ef}I
f i ] j a m e w e ~ k ef e_Qerience is
enly think-
ali>le
by
~ e a n s
ef
modelS: time is
m ~ ~ t
of as a
auge
vessel
~ ' : l t
eomtams
all
tlnmgs
hut
eeulell
also
be
empty;
~ e . ~ ~ ~ t h ' a ~
ª.
Véssel
is
neGessatllJ sometbing in space,
tlividmg
ain
msiae
k0m
at11 0 u t s ~ g aoes pot disturb the
¡. ~ a ¡ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t t e n . 9;l la:ee ~ a l i ~ t e l e i
aa_ ill
d m,a_tt@¡
tstm m
1t.
Because we
see
0ae
thing
in
an0t h1er-life
in the
candle
~ a m e , de-aith ~
sleep,
·titni
m
the lowing st.team, space
'
m a
b e w ~
01
m tire
siy
rtbll
we
500'
as
a:a
inrvetted
bowl
:-the
vast multiplicity of 8 x p > e F i e n ~ eompose one world
for us. Our
symemlic
seeiug is what gives that
world
its
Ñbdame-a[ unity,
mQ'.b A e e ~
'tlall
the
'lnity of its
ausd
c 0 , . 1 m e e t e ~ e s s
die
~ e a 0 m ~
''tiken.ess
in düfer-
enee" th..at uniñes
a
nest af tables,
rather
dlan
the simple
,.
cencateMtl0n
qf
linlr-s
~
unifim;
a
ohain. Most
of
tho
Rings ~ e enG0oteJ.:
l J : a ~ e a0
lil>w0us
causal connec-
tieBS: tl li
r©ar e1 a passmg plaa0j and the voice
f:rom
the paei0
a
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·-
P h i f o s o p h i o d z
K k
ñ
c h d i
~
i l
stops
for
a
moment and then
uses
the
·
other
leg.
That is.-
a causal
chain;
but
so far as our
direct observation
is .
concemed,
most
things
just
happen''
at
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en
.
sense and
which ·tire
deriv'stiv-e.
Witbout tbe concepts
tbey convey we would have ne moral wortd. The same
tbing holds·
for
our eoncre-ptioo ol intelleetual functioJls
and qualities: bright
and
"dull,,.,
' 'keen,''
"'obscur•,"
hard,
even
words like ''wit, "
of
wbieh the root meta
phor
is
white,
are
obviously physical
terms;
but
with-
out them we could
not
hav-e developed the · •
.cally
human
sense
of
intellectnal
and moral
existence.
Metaphorical images
peJll:etrate
deeply
int.o
our
com
mon-sense
ways
of tbinking,. Nebéldy
que,stions
the good
sense
of
saying that a ttee s p r ~ d s its branehes in order
to
catch as muc)l light as
~ s : S i h l e ;
tñ:e model of a person
voluntarily,
lifting
bis
amis
m
- t o
receive .
benefi.cen.t commng fl'em amove i fetgotten when we talk
about the
'1ree
as dfew8Ji i t StJPttd &e hranehes for its
rpuripuae. h.
fact, th1s gutclag image
is so foreiole tbat
most
people who
dG nttt
ilfdiev,e ;ike tree has insigbt and
mtention.s
and v o l ~ mmtfus
stitt
cmmot
surrender
the
metaphor
o
purp
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•
34
Language registers this
Jogical
a ~
s
t r a c ~ o n
in the groW h . ;:
of
its
vocabulary.
The
concepts.
w1th
whlch we ~ p e i : a t e .
m
our
daily
lives-concepts of things and propert1es,
m1nd
and matter, necessity, money value, moral v a l ~ e , good and
evil- aJI may be traced back, through the h1stocy
of
the
words that cxpress
them,
to
their origins in vaguer
but
usuaUy richer "root metaphors." The abstraot s e ~ s ~ ef
our
words today has been derive.d
by
a
p r o c ~ s s of
distmc
tion and separatioo that results m the establishment of
at
Ieast one literal meaning, and often a number c:>f recog
nized metaphorical uses: So. we may fl?d, for m s ~ Q . ~ e :
"Bright: giving
or
refiecting light; figuratively,
of
qu1ck m-
telligence." But here the figurative use is so
common that
most dictionaries today ( e.g., Webster's, or Funk
&
Wagnall's) list it as a secon9 .lit.eral ~ ~ a n i n g .
.
In
discourse and even more m wnting we .continue
to give words new figurative meanings; and as
there
are
many
ways
of
"seeing" a
new
o ~ j e c t or
e Y ~ I ú ,
. t h e r ~ is
often
a
wide choice
of
older
thmgs
to
which.
1t
t r u g } ~
be
assimilated. Who decided
that
the covering of an autg.,. . :
mobile engine was to be
called
the hood in A.metica, a m . ~
'
in
England,
France, and Getm
1
a lllf,
dte h > o n
0 ; 1 ' " ~
W l t ~
called a cover f
or
certain smaller units a
"e&wl,,,
then
made "cowl" a
verb
and derived the
verbal
neun cow
ling"
f
qr
the
same object?
Who
called
the
c0ver
for
We
·
hub
of
the wheel a cap''? No
on.e
ltn0ws. M1
tllese
w0li$
denote headgear, the most familiar loose covering for a
special
part, and
the analogy is
obvious enough so
that
we accept ·
the
extended
mean
1
ing witheut
difticulty.
A
cover
fitti.Qg closely
all around
something is usually
d e s i ~
na.ted as a shoe ; again, we
find
the figure o1
speech ·
natural,
and soon f orget it is a figure. By ~ t a p h e r i c a l
enension, shoeº becom..es tke üterall
nane
0f die fi*i
casings OD tires
as
well as
the
fitted casiiags OB
0lM' feet.
In this way language
grows with conception, and
us11ally
onception
keeps
pace
with new
e ~ r i e a c e s .
The
:reposi
ory of all our
coacep11s, olel
ánd n.ew, q u i ~ a e s ~ a : e t
nes and inveterately
poetic
ones,
is
common sense,
tlie
enerally
accepted
basis of reasonable disoourse, knowl
dge,
and go0d jlldgn leal
. .
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The
e tow ng .centef ;
vf nowledge gs
self-
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38
•
•
PhUosophical Sketches·
trons '" assumed
to
compose the submicroscopic material
, . th
f' t
,,
elements
whleh
today
bear e
name
o . a
~ m s . .
. ·
When
the
conceptual frame of
our
th1nk1ng IS made-
quate for understanding our world, the models that have
served it in-the past
w:i11
not d·o any m·
ore.
The
first theory
of
atoros was
propo'Q.D.ded
more
than
~ o
t h ~ u ~ a n ~
years
ago, by the Greek philosopher Dem0CI1tus;
bis
illustra
tions of
the way
atoros composed
matter were ta.ken
from the sands of the
sea, hard bits of
stone settling
by
their weigbt into
large
masses., and
fr?m dust
motes
seen
in snnbeams,
e.xhibiting
constant motion
that he ~ u g h t
was
of
their
nature.
His
conception
of
atoms
~ -
volved shape and motion, but not any inside stt ucture
or parts. In fact, the name he gave his
material
elements,
atoms, means indivisible, ' Le:, without parts. Atomie
structure, as we know it, could
not
be thought of with
out
a
new
concept,
or rather
a
whole set of
n ~ w
concepts
·
-electromagnetic force, positive and
neg_ative efiarge,
units
of
energy,
and
s e ~ e r a l
other
terms.
of
~ a l ~
that
were
not current
and, mdeed, not
poss1ble
m bis &y.
Philosophical thinking had
not
reaelled
t1w
level
of ~
straction
to which they belong.
Because
we
do operate with sucli
notions, tñe old
Greek
models ·
of ·physical substance
are n@
good to
ns
any more.
Our
philosophy
of nature has
011tgrown
them,
and
scientific
o b ~ r v a t i o n shows us conclitio)lS
th
ey can
ot represent. The
cBíef r e a s í > ~
however,
wby pbysicists
ere never ccmtent with the ancient concept of
M
atom
as that this concept
harbo__red
a lcgical inconsiSteJlcy
simple substance, such as Democritus a s s u m ~ has
eally
no
properties except
tho,ge
of
spatial
e - x t e J ? S ~ l l .
Nt?'
atter
h-0w
small
such extension
may be, i t is
neveJ in
ivisible. Oné éan imagine a particle ol soJid
m ~
being .
ndivisible
in practice, that is, because w have J O in
trument that will
further divide
it; but in theory tbe en4
i its divisiblity cannat be establisliM
at
·
ainy
m ~ i t l l ®
This
is
a typical instance
of
the
sort
of
coneeptnal
roblem that anses in science, religión,
1 1 ~ t i c s
or
any
ther ~ d
oi
~ s t e f n a t i e mJexest, é pieseJ1lts a ~
-
l Or, probably,
Jíís
teacher Leúcippus;
but the
~ t i ñ léet ~
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•
••
J
40 .Phtiosophtcal ·sketches
seem insecure: providence
an? ·.
ts plan, the c r e d e i : t i ~
of human
authorities the valid1ty
of
morals and mstt
tutions,
the
value
or
~ a n i t y of work and of life itself .
'
Few
men
can
think through such problems to a pomt
.of decision, any more than they could thi_nk out for them..:
selves the reasons for expecting an eclipse
on
the
fifth
of
next month at ten o'clock. But their mental security is
not
necessarily disturbed by this fact, so long as they be
lieve implicitly that the
major
i s s u ~ s of. life can be under-
stood
by those who really
put
their mmds wholly to
the
task-that is, that there are answers, and human reasen
can sbape them.
That
is the chief importance of the pro
fessional philosopher for
the
layman-the
reasom.
w1 J.y
Plato's
doctrine of ideas and Aristotle's teleology matte11ea
to
the merchants and soldiers
of
Greece,
who
had h e a F ~
of
them only vaguely if
at ali;
why the
Summa lhe l)l@giea
of
St. Tbomas was
of
vast importance to all Ohristen< le__m,
though probably only the higher clergy read it,
and
áJiil.y
...
in the Western church at
that;
and why, .m he h e ~ c l . a y ©i
an
expanding
secular
culture
f
ollowing
the
Renaissan&ll, - ·
in
a new world
of
science and modero commerce, 0 c k ~ ' s · ·
Essay on Hz1man Understanding
was
an
intellectual
l i e m ~
shell, and Newton's Principia mathematic.a, written in.:Latm
and consisting largely
of
mathematical statements,. Ul - .
tellectually affected people
who
were
neither
scientists B@I
athematicians
and
had
never
studied
a
page
of
it.
Trained
and
spe.ciaHzed thin.Eng is always
in
t h ~
~ a l l
uard
of
our coaceptu
·al
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- 7 ~ 1 f
. , , ~
# ..., · ·.. t
~ - ~ · :
:
' •
_Xhe .Gtd
1:g
' C ~ ' i { f e n o 1€iibw1'edge 'l41
_
t h ~ y
are
~ a g i n a b l e . And
usually ,the advance
of
knowt
.
.. edge
is slow
en0ugh.
ta
mt suoh popular
versions of new
concepts take
sP,ape.
It
is,
after all, imaginatien
tñat
frames ·
and
supports
and
guides
our
thinking, not
0nly ab0ut
·
he
practicallties
of
the
day,
but
also
about
ml:leh
greater
tbingc;
good and
evil, love, life
ap.d
death,
past and
future,
and human des
tiny. The
average
persan
pJobat>ly does not contemplate
·
such
matters very often,
eut
he
has
ideas about
t h e ~
as we
say,
at the back 0f
bis head -gatlhered
since
c h i l d h e o ~ t ,
~ r o m chunch, &0m impressive moments, and
in
sleepless m.ights. When he
dees
have 0ccasion to faee
. rundamenta1
issues
ef
~ F a l
q o > r i n o ~ p l e ,
hope
Or
renun
eiation, seH
er sC>elety, ~ r m s m
which
b.e tibinks must
na1ie
s0m:e crear
semse t:0 lliiiDi; it
is helie
that he aeeds
a
.
sefi.mte an< l a c d e q u a t e l ~
~ j g
W0Dl
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42
,
1
• P h i l ~ s o p h i
~
1 1 1
S k
e ~ c h e s ~ ·
What few people realize is
that the
changed
and
still-
changing
conditions of life are only one
thing-the
most
tangible thing-that
keeps us
in a s ~ a t e of nervous
ten-
sion verging on hysteria. There is a deeper
source
of' anx-
· ety, below the level
of
practica expectations
and
_
ven
of explicit thought:
that
is
tbe
growing inadeqtiacy
of
words,
and
especially certain key words which
have
alwa.ys functioned
in our
moral a·nd political discolilrse,
to express exactly what we
mean
iB such discourse toi-
day.
Perhaps the
present
popular excitement about
"semantics" springs
from
a
half-baked, but
essentially
sound,
awareness
of
thls
piofoundest
trouble.
l t
is a
curious fact
that
really im.portant
philosophical
issues
usually evoke some echo
from the
publ1
c m
1
ind; mdeeCil,
the
public
at
large
has an uncanny way
of feeling the
im-
portance
of things about which
it
knows nothing
-ex-
plicitly.
But
cults
and their
campaigns-such
as teach-
ing
huge audiences
the
first, · s u p e r f i c i ~ l ,
often
speciel l.S
findings of semantic r e s e a F c h - a ~ e quack
m : . e ~ © . H l e
~ e p
grave
phiJosophical ills. '
The inadequacy of w0rds
pómts
·
to a more
serious
difficulty than
the
emotive use of Ian..
guage, and t? get away
from
· Aristotelian categories 0
~
thought
reqwres more than a new
formula wlll0h
ean
be
l e ~ r n e d .
The
d i a g n e s i ~
may
be
e.&sé11
1
tial
f
riyt_'t,
blit
d ; r ~
cure 1s
an
attack
on sytPptoms. · ·
What
those
s y m p t o m ~
revea
is
a
general fnistration of
our
conceptual
powers ~ t h ~ .face
of the new wmld, ang,
~ a t
means, of course, mability
..te reason ~ 8 l í l l f a1
>
0nt
t,
c o n s e q u e n t l ~
we laek t h e e r ~ ü o o l f 0 u n e ' . a ü
~
& l0 s
l l ~
·
ort
any
assertion 1bont
the
th1ngs
that
cem:eem
us
M0S.f
~ e n t l y - - : h u m ~ nghts, l o ~ t y freedom., d e ~ r a c y
rGe
n:' national1ty'
. c ~ t u r e .
The.
cause of
tltls ~ p t ~
y
.es ID
two
COllditions: the
spe_ed wi& Wli$B f > C r a
Calan g e s have c w ~ n (ike ~ d ,
llllild
lQ ~
~
Jd s1onh
of tho11ght.
Doth actual ~ e
~ e l . f e 9
0
e ~
m_ng ave o u ~ our
powers
of
unagmatto11;
se tb
.
yerage
p e r s o i _ i ~ p l e
or
s o p . h l & t i c a ~ e < l
is nnable m
1cture.
uruverse,
Gr even to ~ e w : e whll;t
&¡;
n.oot
llilre IS ~ Y . to be. Ule w0rld
UQ:ll\
ge
lw ~ s O O .
Our
chief disconce1mtent stems ll9 t
fr0m
r11ew e ~ ~
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T h e f l r o w i r l g ~
~ -
e J /
& Í ' - K ~ w ~ / f / í
g e J ~ J
tua]Jy
u n f
~
l d s faster t h ~ ·
1t
ha;s e v ~ r OOJle in,. ttie
pare.
The .developm&
l
t of p e l l ~
r
events
rs
ñ"irectly m.fittimeeit
~ y
t k ~
sp>eed·. ~ ~ 0 m m
n 1 ~ 0 n
anél
tt-.avel.
Considd, fór
·
~
t a n . e . e ,
1
th€>
e i r e a
~
tlfetwee..n ~ W"an
witli
1lhe.
Getñs
~ d
~ ~
lile.
~ t 1
m s , : r e s p e d i . v ~ ~
G © t h ~
mtgrated with the
.w
fam111es, sloWly pusJt1 b1*
~ e s t w a r d f r ~ n t i
e
r , always ~
e a t e n m g
me estallllisb• em_.¡.
pire
of
iaeli1íl§. Wh'en • ~ ~ a e s M m w ~ é @gaiest
~ ~
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. . . .
.
. ..•
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f l t l l . ~
..
.
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146
call t h e m s e l v ~ s " e x i s t e n t i a l i s t s ' ~ - n o t a b l y Heidegger :and
Jaspers in Germany,
2
Sartre
and.
Marce in F r ~ c e - : - : - a r e
programmatic rather than
d o c r ~ a l .
.In doctt;1ne
t h ~ ~ e
writers are often far apart. It 1s m a1m, startlng pomt,
and method
that
they belong to one. ~ p i r i t u a l ~ o v e m e n t .
Tbeir
starting
point
is the recogn1t1on
of exzstence.
as
an
ultimate inward
experience--not
only
one's
own exist
ence, but that of the world, which has the
s ~ ~
charac
ter. Their problem is not
to
understand existence, be
ca
use it is · essentially irrational and therefore eludes
understanding,
but
to accept
and
appreciate.it.
The
deeper
motivation
of theír
quest is
to
put
values
mto
the
world
where they do not find them.
This is
not an uncommon
motive
at any
time,
and in an
age of cultural transition, full of t.ension, parácdox, aBd
uncertainty, it is a powerful one; 1t
~ u i ; n s
t h o u s ~ n d s of
people from
their own
vain eff
orts to cope
w1th
t l ~
world into the folds of religious faiths. But
most
peo-
ple bave
little
to
sacrifice .
in.
~ i s
exdlange
,;
t d o c e s ~
mea;
quite otherwise, cannot .easily nd
~ e m s e l v ~ s
of ~ e i r t>wn
reason
that
revolts
agawst
absuitid1ty.
Thelr
wrisgs
M:e
fulI of rational
ideas and able arguments.
Sucñ:
~ e r s
find the aéceptance of o o a t r a d i c ~ i o s s
a
heavy
~ a s k . They
have the temptation of .ration.ality tu contendl wit&;
aJird
their
philosophic
method, therefore,
demands
a
rcD-
.
stant
humiliation of reason.
This
hiWiillliartiiw
i:s
taire
iliee
moral act,
·the
constant choice,
which
·
the
.
emtentialist has __
to practice as · h.e
simpile
Fel igie:us ~ a l o t
pt;a&ttees Bll>B
stant
prayer.
The
pll'omise
0f
e:ñstentiaüsn
is
in
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The GrtJwi lig·Center
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· · ·: :· . . - ·
P / 1 1 o ~ p . ) h ~
' G ~
s
f i e }
~ h ~ i
. _ ~
· ·
urrent
academic p h i l o s o p h y Great roen of s9íeJilce·_have
een
their oWil p h i l o s o p h ~ r s h
~ Y
.
~ e n e v e ~ ~ r a i d
of ·
deas. Newton, Faraday, Bi:istem, Pian:k, and therr peers ·
generation
a f t ~ r
gez:ieration-have ~ v e n t e d the new.
oncepts
of
physica
s ~ 1 e n c e a ~ tJ:tey needed them. Bu.t
of
.
ourse
t h e ~
have
hm1ted
11e1r
lltellectual construct1ons
o the reqwtements of therr .sub)ect. ' Y b e ~ e r these.
I d
bstractions can ever
be
squared Wlth t h ~ ~ G _ o n o m i c ,
gal ~ o r a l , a e s t h e t i ~ , ~ n d other forms - 0 ~ ~ d ~ a t 1 o n t h a ~
t?-10 m the
· e ~ t o ~
life
1s none f the phys1c1st
s
c o n e , e ~ ,
e 1s too
busy m bis
own domam
to
play
the
m e ~ a l ? h y s 1 -
an beyond it,
and. indeed,
w h ~ n . e v e r
he does so hts llililar-
-
ation
is
as ungw?ed
by
~ t ? c t
problems
as
anybody s,
d is apt to lapse m t ~ traditional chan.nels as .
soon
as. he
ntur.es
on
f o r e i ~ ground: P ~ o s o p h y
has
its ~ u t -
sts 1n. every spec1al field,_
but
1ts frontal advace iS a ·
k
for
1ts
own scholars.. . . . ·
i
Establishing
the . rational f o u n d a t i o ~ of s e t e n ~ e
opositions is the work that engages ítlhe
s ~ e ~ r g e
s
t
~ M ~ -
phic
minds
today.
It has
taken
them far mto
~ e m a n ~
.
1
blems: the effect of syntb0:1ie,; forms en
- ~ ~ • m g ~ , ,
tke
its of logical systems, and the grounds for ~ m o 1 e e of
t e m s ~ It
hars startee a
p e t r ~ t r a
t i l l
g a&állJ,sis
·
&f su01il
mm:-
ts as space-time;
measurem
@
nt,.
simultaneity, l©Cá-
r
, e q t t i v a l e n . ~ , s t m ~ . d ~
• ~ r t ; ¡,
o and function; but
this
anajytic
~ º ~
IS
m t e r w
~
e m
~
h the processes 0f new c e m s t w i 1 ~ n ~ t
9 ~ a 1
gination, which are naturally e a l l ~ fo'F
where
sltrer
lfSis can 0nly
rev:ea l
p 1 1 0 ~ l e s am
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..
·
e
~ ~ ó 0 ~
g
C é n t ~ t
o f
R
n
w f e
i J g e ·
· Q f > P l ~ ~ t of i i a
e t i c a J í l ~
• i í t l ~
· ~
1 > ~ w e t r kds •lr
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. . ,
.
.
.
..
.
; p f i 1 d s o / , h i
~
~ i e
l ~ h
e ~
~ . ~
_
.
.
s
space
and tiine have changed ·
tli
.
eir
.appéarance ·and
ken
our most elementary ~ o o t h o l d s .
in
t h ~ physical
ld, language has changed
ts
mean1ngs witbout
our
wing. it,
and
tbrown our literal, theoretical discourse
confusion. Our moral and political thinking lacks·
sort of
conceptual framework
of
its
own.
Even
in
spe-
fields
that
we dignify with scientific-sounding
es
sociology, social psychology, social
dynamics-
e is no
conceptual basis
of
powerful abstrae-
to implement deeper
and
deeper analysis, definitions
can
be ~ u i l t
up
óne on a n o ~ e r , .like
the
d e ~ i t i o n s
a ~ e m a t 1 c a l _terms o_r phys1cal elements, _and . t h ~ 1
mg
up
of a highly art1culated
s y s t e ~
of
relationships.
terminology used
at
present in so-called "social
ce"
is
consciously
a r t ~ c i a l ,
but the concepts
rure
s ~ J
of common
sense,
generalired but not abstract:
s
to say, they
are
still prescientific.
long
as political affairs,
morals apart
fnam ohunck
nes,
and
social issues
have
no
.
background
of
co-
,
t, formal
thought
to
which
we can take recourse
problems
become ·complicated, "social scien€e',. ..
e no
guide
to
feason:able
a e t i @ a Wh,el)\e ih
ene
is ne
there
·is no science, pol itical 0r social 0r Ml Y
Qthel
· ·
-
usual
explanation ojfered in
excuse
fM this intel- .
l
f:Wure
- ~
tllat precise
concepts
aFe imp0ssie.te
and '
.
m political thought, because
people are moved
· '
.:
f-interest
or by
_
emotion in
politics,
and. do not act
,
unds of
rea8on.
That
is llice
s a ~ g
that
engioeenmg
build
a p ~ w e r
dam,
because ~ a m s aire i
>uilt.
by ·
~
and
.
obb1es,
not
by
mathematics. Ji>eople
are Just
.
tiorial
in
religion ás
in
politi.es;
this
dés
oot mean
'eo}t}gy
·
ral Jst be U D S \ : Y S ~ e 1 l i l 3 l ~ i e atnf I eem fiu:'See.
Bsgtr
"
.
does not
raise
tñe
money
or
pass ~ e neetfe(¡j
,.
-
get
a
power dam
built, but
it does determine,
y and clearJ.y,
~ h a t
is IDYOlVee
m euiding·
whenever
we may
decide
to d0 so. ·
eed
powerful
concepts
to
cope
with
the
welter
of
ditions
that ?eset us
A ~
just point,, 00ncepti0n
1
ha.Ve S ~ t e d . t00 m:ae,
~ l a
WOJ\QS te n ~ W ar. ~ . ~ .·
s., wbich their striot literal .
e a n i n g s
dom.'t q u i t ~
·
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8/18/2019 The Crowing Center of Knowledge2_cropped
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,.
._
.
1 ' w e ~ l t e á a e
- . .
g o n ~
pút ~ oµr ha(_a practica thinkiítg. That eauses fh&
P : U U ~ o ~ d i ~ t r u s t
in
t ~ e n ,
0tt
not
u 1 1 e 0 m m < m l f ~ a
nestal.w
gie:
< l l e s ~ e tei
13eW.m
rte l l e ~ t m m e s Jiaitlé0aaliy and
. suita.My
built up
in
tie s m a l l ~ r frame @f a mole stable world
fore reason became eonfused. Then
ope
hears tite
watcho,
wo ds:
"Back
te
Kmt "
nBaGk
to
St.
'1110masl''
''Back
te
Atistotle, P1}at0,
~ - a g e i : a s "
:But
we
eannet ~ backwat:d, e ~ e e p t
in
dream. Bit-
tory 1 1oves
forward,
n.:ot backward.
Phil.ose¡iliy must ~ i o t W a m a - - - . : t > o ~ l f i ,
e ~ e r
aJl ~ b s t a c l e s
7 f
~ a l . B ~ a g ~
~ « e ' 1 1 ~ 8 J b : e •• &8tratl
drirptdng pe>
s1b>akle and e l i i e © t u ~ agam:. h $10s:e 1 1 . e ~ a l m s wkeíe lñeory is
we
est,
ancl
w ~ e r i e
~ e
terms
ef
c d i ~ l ) ~ e
am
fuzziest,
~ e r e is
the g i r e a t c ; s
~ m.est Uligen.t
w01tk te &e done.
We
mustt
eo.ustftet
~ ~ a l i ~ e,j
a new e;ge, a uew world,
and ~ a t
means
a inew moral ity. This
,eannot
be done by
adopting sorne simple new
idea
an.d making an ''ism"
o_i 1 . t - - - J l i u m a
A i s ~
ei»istentialism., F r e u d i a m i s m ~ d
set-
ting upa ~ w geHe-mf principies üy wltieh a l f.amiliar etlú-
cal
rules
8.11e
hene@{,nh to
he
measwed.
It
can
oilly
be
cl«Jm.e b ~ a a a r l y ~ i m g ana. pei;haps nedeini1111g ll\Gt GD[y obvi-
e.us
~ 1 f l l
1 e : d a i s 1 t ~ I S l lf mie, ' '
doce
fi lue
cgJi
iUe
ikell&
asd. me¡wswaiJ ~ ~ ª B i m e m d ~ , seeíeilJ, asd seay t l ~
S U ~ J e c t s .
e>llly m
SB4
l0ng
attd
Üee Jei.ectiOB may
tho
abstract
oouepts
elñerge tbat will make sooiM f b ~
as
t ~
~ &
~ ~ } f s i e ~
s ~ é n e e ,
adll_
wiJl, or. a reblt. 1 ta some ancient orde of life¡,
wo
¡:oee4