It is impossible for knowledge to exist without a conscious mind, for without consciousness there is nothing to perceive, think, or be aware of anything at all. The senses, housed in the body, are stimulated by things in the external world, which is itself external to both the body and mind; introspection searches one's own mind, whether probing one's emotional state, reflecting on a memory, deciphering one's intentions, or engaging in some other mental act. The very concept of the external world is only valid because there is a distinction between a perceiving mind and material objects being perceived. They cannot be one and the same.
Those who claim that all knowledge comes from the senses commit three grave errors. First, they make a self-refuting claim, for the senses do not prove that all knowledge comes from them, and thus the claim itself cannot be true. Second, all knowledge involves logic, without which there could be no intelligible experiences, and logic is grasped by the mind, not the senses. Third, the senses can perceive external objects only because there is a conscious mind behind them.
Introspection is an inward gaze, a stare into one's own mind/spirit. It is not a gaze at some outer material object. This means that the mind is distinct from the senses. One can perceive the mind without even having any senses at all, but one cannot perceive through the senses without having a mind. The very notion that the senses ground all knowledge is false, impossible, self-refuting, and an idea that only an asinine thinker would ever believe.
It is with some degree of introspection that I constantly perceive, for, although I can close my eyes and will my mind's focus to retreat into itself, to focus on anything I must be aware of my inner consciousness. There is not a moment when I perceive on any level, whether when awake or in dreams, that involves no introspection at all. The inward gaze is omnipresent in my experiences, even if only to the slight extent of simple awareness that there is a self that is perceiving.
No, not all knowledge comes from the senses. Far from it! Knowledge can exist without the senses or without any matter at all because a conscious mind can exist without them. But knowledge cannot be obtained through the senses unless there is a mind experiencing sensory perceptions. And thus for knowledge to exist, it is true by necessity that not all knowledge comes from the senses.
Logic, people. It is helpful and it cannot be false. And it does not rely on matter or the senses for its existence or authority. It has both by intrinsic necessity.
No comments:
Post a Comment