[carlo]

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Continuing on with the idea of not knowing the “thing in itself” we can see that this is relevant to the fact that the mental picture of the tree is not the tree and it is then assumed that Man, in his thinking, works with this mental picture of the tree but not the ‘real tree”. Further consideration reveals this to be faulty for the “real tree” is a perception which is limited by our being as we are limited beings in the world. Each man is individually limited by nature else we would be able to perceive the entire world complex in one fell swoop. The other consideration is that our “mental picture” is also a perception as the worldly tree percept is equally. In fact our entire being is a “percept” within our nature. One could therefore give no more credence to the “mental picture “as basis for knowledge than the original tree percept. Because of this some have posited that life is illusion, at best a dream, in which all men dream equally.




So how does “limited man” gain knowledge of the world? He does this through thinking. In each of the mental gyrations we go through thinking is assumed but not studied. If I throw a ball into the air a distance and watch it fall we will obtain a parabolic path and after pondering the presentation we, as mathematician, come up with the “concept” of the parabola. This “concept” is brought to us by thinking and in this the percept of the world which does not display the whole reality is complete by that part brought to us by thinking, the "concept". Because of Man’s limitations his percepts only display half of the reality while the concept, which is the part not observed by the senses is present and completes the whole. Likewise the concept “tree” or “animal kingdom” are concepts brought to us via thinking. In thinking we piece the world together connecting concepts to their respective percepts and to other concepts and therefore expanding our world knowledge vis a vis our precepts.




Of course, the idea of thinking must be considered. One must study thinking but can only do this in hindsight. To study or observe thinking while in the act of thinking is not tenable. One studies thinking at the completion of the act and in this thinking is studied and placed in our complex of concepts. The study of thinking reveals that thinking is that which is the part of the universal world process presented to all. Thinking is not individual but our substance in which truth is common to all of mankind, not the specific individual. In that an individual man is limited by his being as for example feelings or will which block perfect thought impulses the truths accomplished will display variations of multiplicity due to the fact that an individual man will obfuscate (depending upon the individual ,of course) the truth in reality, again secondary to his limited being. He works this worldly universe piecemeal and passes this to his brothers who in following the thought gain an appreciation of the world. Thinking is universal and in this we can all appreciate the truths involved and through thinking we can all come together. My feelings and will impulses are not common to all men but my thinking most certainly is so.





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