We share useful labels - denotations - if you will, for people, places ideas and things as a common currency, in order to communicate with others. Many of us internally attach a connotation - or meaning - onto the denoted as a second label. Some also attach an emotion to it, depending on the context, place etc. We appear to sense the world and hold it as a limited internal illusion (unsconsciously or not), though it STILL reflects an external world beyond our self. Those external-made-internal sense impressions are neutral; Its the internal evaluation and meaning we attach to this sense data which could well be arbitrary, subjective and judge-mental. A knife cutting into flesh may mean something to you; and if it is a knife and an apple, then you may evaluate that differently to other possibilities and emote or feel depending on the past experiences you have stored in your unconscious part of your mind and retrieve for comparison right NOW. A nice cup of tea can describe a subjective experience - an external phenomenon plus an internal interpretation and judgement. For someone who senses a physical china cup, containing a measure of hot Assam tea, with white milk (and no sugar) - and evaluates this neutral data - as nice. In summary: Tea>gustatory sense impression>thought comparison = outside-in and Judgement>connotation>emotional expression>external dialogue Mmm, thats nice = inside-out. Yes, Ive probably missed some steps, but I hope you get my drift. I am reminded about the Professor of Philosophy who took a class about the self and existence. One student was up all night working through the class literature and the professor was met in the following morning by this bleary-eyed student who pleaded with the professor Do I exist? To which, the professor replied: And who wants to know? If we recognise the relation of external data to internal evaluation from our perspective of a conscious observer, we can begin to understand ourselves and how we behave a little better - yes, thats an evaluation - of evaluating. And then we may consider re-evaluation; such as how DID we evaluate things and people, and how should we now? Should we use the same scales for everything? Or are people an exception? #rhetorical.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 18:55:03 +0000
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