of purely subjective conceptions. Apart from this subjective view of
Appearance, however, we have all reason to rejoice that the things
which environ us are appearances and not steadfast and independent
existences; since in that case we should soon perish of hunger, both
bodily and mental.
(a) _The World of Appearance._
132.] The Apparent or Phenomenal exists in such a way, that its
subsistence is _ipso facto_ thrown into abeyance or suspended and
is only one stage in the form itself. The form embraces in it the
matter or subsistence as one of its characteristics. In this way
the phenomenal has its ground in this (form) as its essence, its
reflection-into-self in contrast with its immediacy, but, in so doing,
has it only in another aspect of the form. This ground of its is no
less phenomenal than itself, and the phenomenon accordingly goes on to
an endless mediation of subsistence by means of form, and thus equally
by non-subsistence. This endless inter-mediation is at the same time
a unity of self-relation; and existence is developed into a totality,
into a world of phenomena,--of reflected finitude.
(b) _Content and Form._
133.] Outside one another as the phenomena in this phenomenal
world are, they form a totality, and are wholly contained in their
self-relatedness. In this way the self-relation of the phenomenon is
completely specified, it has the Form in itself: and because it
is in this identity, has it as essential subsistence. So it comes about
that the form is Content: and in its mature phase is the Law
of the Phenomenon. When the form, on the contrary, is not reflected
into self, it is equivalent to the negative of the phenomenon, to
the non-independent and changeable: and that sort of form is the
indifferent or External Form.
The essential point to keep in mind about the opposition of Form and
Content is that the content is not formless, but has the form in its
own self, quite as much as the form is external to it. There is thus
a doubling of form. At one time it is reflected into itself; and then
is identical with the content. At another time it is not reflected
into itself, and then is the external existence, which does not at
all affect the content. We are here in presence, implicitly, of the
absolute correlation of content and form: viz. their reciprocal
revulsion, so that content is nothing but the revulsion of form into
content, and form nothing but the revulsion of content into form. This
mutual revulsion is one of the most important laws of thought. But it
is not explicitly brought out before the Relations of Substance and
Causality.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account