[Arisbe] Re: Manifolds Of Sensuous Impressions (MOSI's)

[Jon Awbrey]

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Apology to 'q'

| It is always the "speechlessness" of sensation, its inability
| to make any "statement", that is held to make the very notion
| of it meaningless, and to justify the student of knowledge in
| scouting it out of existence.  "Significance", in the sense
| of standing as the sign of other mental states, is taken
| to be the sole function of what mental states we have;
| and from the perception that our little primitive
| sensation has as yet no significance in this
| literal sense, it is an easy step to call it
| first meaningless, next senseless, then
| vacuous, and finally to brand it as
| absurd and inadmissible.  But in
| this universal liquidation, this
| everlasting slip, slip, slip,
| of direct acquaintance into
| knowledge-'about', until at
| last nothing is left about
| which the knowledge can be
| supposed to obtain, does
| not all "significance"
| depart from the
| situation?
| And when our knowledge about things has reached its never so complicated perfection,
| must there not needs abide alongside of it and inextricably mixed in with it
| some acquaintance with 'what' things all this knowledge is about?
|
| James, "Func of Cog", pages 13-14.
|
| William James, "The Function Of Cognition",
| Read before the Aristotelian Society, 1 Dec 1884.
| First published in 'Mind', 10 (1885).  Reprinted in
|'The Meaning Of Truth, A Sequel To "Pragmatism"',
| Longmans, Green, & Company, London, UK, 1909.

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