On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, and On the Will in Nature: Two Essays (revised edition) — John Shaqi
On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, and On the Will in Nature: Two Essays (revised edition)Schopenhauer, Arthur
Philosophy
On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, and On the Will in Nature: Two Essays (revised edition)
Schopenhauer, Arthur
Sufficient reason; Will
Thus we see, that although infinite divisibility and infinite
extension are common to both Time and Space, these two forms of
empirical representations differ fundamentally, inasmuch as what is
essential to the _one_ is without any meaning at all for the _other_:
juxtaposition having no meaning in Time, succession no meaning in
Space. The empirical representations which belong to the orderly
complex of reality, appear notwithstanding in both forms together;
nay, the _intimate union_ of both is the condition of reality which,
in a sense, grows out of them, as a product grows out of its factors.
Now it is the Understanding which, by means of its own peculiar
function, brings about this _union_ and connects these heterogeneous
forms in such a manner, that _empirical reality_--albeit only for
that Understanding--arises out of their mutual interpenetration, and
arises as a collective representation, forming a complex, held together
by the forms of the principle of sufficient reason, but whose limits
are problematical. Each single representation belonging to this class
is a part of this complex, each one taking its place in it according
to laws known to us _à priori_; in it therefore countless objects
_coexist_, because Substance, _i.e._ Matter, remains permanent in
spite of the ceaseless flow of Time, and because its states change in
spite of the rigid immobility of Space. In this complex, in short,
the whole objective, real world exists for us. The reader who may be
interested in this, will find the present rough sketch of the analysis
of empirical reality further worked out in § 4 of the first volume of
"Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung,"[55] where a closer explanation
is given of the way in which the Understanding effects this union
and thus creates for itself the empirical world. He will also find a
very important help in the table, "_Prædicabilia à priori_ of Time,
Space, and Matter," which is added to the fourth chapter of the second
volume of the same work, and which I recommend to his attention, as
it especially shows how the contrasts of Time and Space are equally
balanced in Matter, as their product, under the form of Causality.
[55] Vol. i. p. 12, and _seqq._ of the 1st edition; p. 9 of the 3rd
edition.
We shall now proceed to give a detailed exposition of that function
of the Understanding which is the basis of empirical reality; only we
must first, by a few incidental explanations, remove the more immediate
objections which the fundamental idealism of the view I have adopted
might encounter.
§ 19. _Immediate Presence of Representations._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account