Even if I get an email in English, I cannot answer.
Means of philosophy
Toru ICHIKAWA
Though I have documented over half a lifetime of my own philosophy, " The general education of philosophy : two dimensional world", I feel most disappointed as it was not paid much interest in the most public. Today, I would like to ask the means of philosophy once again even though such philosophy can be ignored in the daily life.
Subject of philosophy is the consciousness. It can be put as "mental", but it is rather ambiguous to be defined.
Anyone can easily judge themselves whether there is consciousness or not. Because of judgment can be only made with the existence of consciousness. It cannot be applied to consciousness of others like: "Is there a consciousness to pets?", "Is there a consciousness to bacteria?" and gIs there a consciousness like me to other people?" When the existence of consciousness is questioned, the definition of consciousness will be asked inversely. First place, you have to define "what is the consciousness", otherwise it cannot be asked whether there is consciousness to it. The subject is in question and the definition is called into question, it is truly philosophical question.
Firstly, consciousness is controlling the interaction of the human and the subject. Consciousness has been evolved by controlling the activities of mankind. Human beings also need food to survive with avoiding any danger. It will not leave descendants without gaining a spouse either. The consciousness is essential in order for human to live. Consciousness is not only pursuing truth, virtue, beauty, and values, but also supporting the existence of human beings for its survival.
As a pre-stage of consciousness, brain converts nerve signals from the sensory organs and then it is sent out to the signal to motion organs. If the movement resulted by the sense is a good circumstances, then it makes easier to survive. Consciousness is achieved during the process of converting from the sense signal to the motion signal. Although it is unknown how it is achieved, brain perceives own movement that is the result of the signal being processed at the same time. Brain controls the signal process itself further with the circulation and recursion. Feedback of the recursive control is the key element for the achievement of consciousness. This feedback plays a function of consciousness. For consciousness, the recursions of consciousness and the subject of consciousness are overlapping as nesting. Consciousness has been evolved by passing through to the next generations with this survived signal processing capability.
Consciousness is consisting of the basis of sense and motion, but it is most unlikely to be aware of the sense. The things of interest shall become conscious, but it is not usually aware of the sense itself. Although the sense is taken for granted, it has to know the restrictions and limitations of the senses in order to ask question about consciousness.
As a pre-sense, sense organ receives a signal medium from the target such as light. It can only receive a small portion of the signal. Sense organs can only receive signals subjected to the quality and quantity of individual capabilities. Visual sense can only receive visible light of a small portion of the electromagnetic wave. Hearing sense can only receive the vibration of the audible range. Taste can only be represented as basic sweet, sour, salty, bitter and tasty by the difference of the molecule. People often say the sense of smell of dog is one million times more than humans.
Mankind also receives varieties of far too large signals for human being to extract the useful information to live. Most people feel the light by distinguishing in three different types together with its darkness and vividness. Colour is not solely determined by the difference of the wavelength of the light. Structural colours such as gold, silver, copper and soap bubbles are not construed by the wavelength itself. In addition, motion itself does not change but it is the change in target. Change will be evident as compared to the previous memory. Vibration of the sound is the change time. Sound is differentiated by remembering the elapsed time. The sound of the moment does not exist. Sense is not consisted only with the stimulation of the sense organs.
It is called the "five senses", but posture (stance) sense is the most important sense for mankind. They are the state of the body and a sense of body orientation. It does not feel only uncomfortable but it is also not possible to keep still if the posture sense is disturbed. Normal posture is the basis for the posture sense to verify the reality.
A variety of stimulation to the sensory organs will be converted to nerve signals. Nerve signal is represented by the electrical difference of nerve cells. There is no difference between the subject and the representation of the nerve signals.
Brain represents the subjects as a collection of nerve signals. Brain relates different signals from the different nerves with comparisons and distinguishes. Brain portrays a sense representation with the interpretation of the nerve signal. Representations of what is depicted and reproduced in the brain are superimposed to the subject. If the representation deviates from the subject, brain shall then adjust to overlap. It is called the plasticity of the brain and it has the great responsiveness and descriptive power. (i.e. People get used to the distortion of vision of the new glasses after sometime. There is also a dangerous experiment of Upside-down glasses. Please search for it on web.)
The superposition of the subject representation of sense cannot be achieved just having a brain and sense organs. It is the capability developed through the experience from the time the sense itself was in the womb. For visual, it configures three-dimensional images from the reflection of the curved surface on the retina. It captures the subjects not only with the binocular vision, but it also takes into account the experience to touch or move around to it. It adjusts and superimposes the visions recursively by receiving the signals and experiencing the interaction with the objects.
It also brings the varieties of illusions through mapping. Optical illusions (such as Muller-Lyer figure) are the side effect caused by emphasizing of the useful visual information. Even though it is recognized as the optical illusions, it is not possible to change the perception. Ambiguous figures (such as Necker cube) are only visible from one side at once and it is not visible once converted to the other side. In this way, the sense does not capture the subject undisguisedly. Hence, "undisguised" has to be redefined.
As sense has been optimized for everyday life of people, it is not suited to capture extraordinary or universal events. Sense also captures subtle nuances of human relationship, but it is not able to capture the way the nation or society is governed. It is not possible to capture undisguisedly by the sense even the material world. It is not possible to know the Earth is spinning around the sun from the observation of the daily life.
However, it is possible to develop and dilate sense itself by contemplating the sense consciously. It becomes more abundant to distinguish gradation. Even the abstract, it is possible to operate sensuously with the representation of symbols. Most accurate shape can be represented with numbers of the coordinates. It is possible to expand or reduce the size many times with mere representations of the numbers for the relationship between objects. It is even possible to understand the space of four or more dimensions by using the coordinates. Although it is not possible image sensuously, it is possible to understand how it contiguous and change. Various simulations can be applied with the formula. It is possible to understand analogically from the experienced sense.
As for the main subject, consciousness, consciousness becomes consciousness when it is conscious to it. Consciousness itself has to be aware of the subject. Existence of consciousness is subjected with object Consciousness is lost when human is no longer conscious. Human being sleeps without consciousness every day.
Since consciousness is subjected to the signal sent into the brain, consciousness is everything to consciousness itself. But consciousness may not be aware of all the subjects. For example, vision is only in our front. Vision is limited to the some range in our front and it is impossible to be conscious what is behind. Rear can only be conscious as the direction in the abstract. Once you turn around, it is no longer behind and it becomes the front. The behind is not the darkness visually, it is "emptiness" to the visual sense. It is not able to see behind as "presence".
In addition, consciousness can only be aware of that can be conscious. It is not possible to be conscious for what inexperienced, what unknown and what has been forgotten. Tose can be only imagined.
The expression of human is based on what can be conscious, but it is not able to express all. It is possible to read books exhaustively, but everything is not written in the books. A man is given a limited knowledge even no matter how the person is talented or powerful. A man cannot possible to say "deduce the solution after mastering the entire knowledge".
Consciousness can be extended even is has restriction and limitation. People can become conscious to every corner of the body to move. One may even feel the pain of others. Consciousness can even reaches the tip of the instrument by train further. It is able to operate automobiles like a part of the body. With a better understanding of the subject, it can be regarded whole subject as an integral. Consciousness may even feel a sense of unity with the world.
Although hallucinations may sense the existence of nothing, it is separate from the sense of dealing things freely. On the contrary, it is able to experience the experimental astral projection. Patients with phantom limb may even feel the pain from the limbs been lost. Consciousness may feel as a physical presence with a subject differentiated from the physical presence.
Consciousness is completely different from materials. Consciousness does not exist as a object. While consciousness itself is in the brain and brain exists as an object, it will not be able to find the consciousness in there. The existence of the subject of the consciousness and the consciousness itself are presented differently. The presence of consciousness can be conscious only by consciousness.
There is also a difference of degree in consciousness. From the state of dragged or uncertain to the state that would be integrated with the subject losing own conscious. It becomes easier to concentrate consciousness by learning the subjects. It will be able to understand the bottom line with attention to its details by knowing the relationship between the objects.
Caution can become unconscious and subconscious by training. Even the things trying consciously in the beginning, it becomes unconsciously after get used to it. People can walk without thinking how to walk or can go home without thinking about the ways are due to the work of subconscious. Memory cannot be remembered is even stored in the subconscious and it is possible to remember with an opportunity. It captures the quality, shape and the movement of the objects without thinking such complex mechanisms of vision. Consciousness is realized by the subconscious and it becomes subconscious of itself eventually.
Consciousness is rather made up by the subconscious that cannot be conscious. It can be said that conscious mind is piled on top of the subconscious. Originally consciousness has been developed without paying any conscious to itself. Anyone can be conscious to oneself from the early childhood without even having the memory earlier.
Object world that people can be aware of overtly is the conceptual world that is expressed and configured by subconscious. People reconfigure the subjects and entire conceptual world to be conscious. Consciousness of human being can only be aware of the conceptual world that is reconstructed. Consciousness is consisted by only consciousness and it is based on conceptual world that has been drawn by consciousness itself. We shall see the world, human relations and values quite differently, if the reconstructed world is self-centered, the earth-centered, a solar-centered or deny any center at all. Consciousness tends to interpret things and the world conveniently to itself. Subconscious even tries to protect own created world by justifying itself. For the any ordinary man, it is quite difficult to accept true self undisguisedly.
Consciousness knowing the objective material world and understanding the clue is universal while existing in the subjective self-centered world that is drawn by the subconscious. It shall deduce more reliable representation and more solid relationship by sieving the subjects been portrayed as conceptual representation. It is the sign of objective existence for the subject of people to have the same and repeated representations. It also confirms the universality for related whole individual matters at the same time. Universal existence is appeared through fluctuation and subjective distortion. It can be captured the reality objectively as universality beyond the representation been drawn by the sense.
Consciousness cannot be aware of the whole objective world or whole of consciousness overtly. It becomes possible to understand oneself as well as the world by following the association of the world consisting of consciousness and matter including the subconscious being unaware of. It becomes possible to understand consciousness objectively by ascertaining functions of consciousness and its limit in the material world. The objective reality world can be understood with the subjective to its consciousness by re-positioning the world that consciousness constitutes itself.
Objective reality world that is the subject of consciousness is orderly. The world is made up of a universal interaction. Each unique individual can be existed as each individual because of the manifestation of the order. Physical presence is a manifestation of the physical order. Human body is also existed by body metabolism order. The body is not something being completed even reaching adulthood. All cells, including the bones that make up the human body are always metabolized. The cell is also metabolized to maintain the human body. The collapse of metabolic order may cause illness and it may results death if the metabolism order cannot be restored. Anything shall break down inevitably if the order is been ignored.
Although the order of the universe shall be collapsed physically inevitable (the second law of thermodynamics), partial order has been made whilst whole order being lost. Order has evolved by creating another order. Mankind that is conscious the world exists after the structure of the universe being made, life was created and biological evolution has been progressed. It is the history of the universe.
Consciousness is to understand the world by re-configured the world order within the consciousness. Consciousness itself has been realized as the world of orderly consciousness. Sense is to reproduce the signal from the objective material world as subjective world order of consciousness within. Consciousness is to configure the subjective world with the comparison with the drawn representations of sense and also by distinguishing, associating and abstracting the order of the relationship. Consciousness is to understand subject when the representation of the subject falls exactly into the conscious world. Consciousness makes certain the representation and the subject by matching representations drawn by the sense.
People will be able to get a better life to explore and use the order. Instruments shall be used utilizing the nature of the subject to design, manufacture and follow the instructions. In the Eastern world, the world of logics has been investigated to obtain a life that would not be disturbed since ancient times.
The representation of logic is used to pursue the order and the logics. General representation of the various relationship orders are the logics. Representation of the order by the logic is the law. It is a scientific theory to interpret the subject by the law. Science is to express the law of world order and to validate. Science is the result of human consciousness been built in the course of human history and it is the method. Unfortunately, science can define in details of the material world, but it does not explain the consciousness in the same way as the material world.
Without having to learn science, people can apply the regularity by distinguish between things that to be the immutable and changeable. It is possible to understand the universal world together with own experience if you learn science. It is the accumulation of mankind experience and intended to spread to the world for all existing material in the world by exploring in a universal way and expressing beyond the historical and cultural differences. Science makes errors, but science can also correct the error. Philosophy not based on science will lack its completeness and not be able to maintain its integrity. Science is essential for philosophy trying to understand the universal order of the world. Science can only represent the world order that consciousness has reached.
Science has revealed the order that cannot be captured by the sense. This universe is known to begin by a large explosion 13.8 billion years ago. Time and space of the physical world will expand and contract. Substance can be a wave or a particle. Objective material world is made up by the order far beyond the world to be captured by a sense.
Consciousness is constantly updated as the same metabolism rate of the body by being conscious. Memory is also updated by recalling. Consciousness maintains itself while been updated and changed. Consciousness, which is constantly updated, may give the priority to notions and it may even portray a world far away from the material world. It is possible to keep superimposed the conceptual world to the material world by being conscious to the whole conceptual and material world. It is the first responsibility of the philosophy to maintain superimposed the conceptual world to material world in order to live healthily in the real world.
Consciousness is not only to be kept, but it is also the orderly world that can be deepened and grown rich. Consciousness can reflect on the world order within itself to grow. Growth as a human being is the second role of the philosophy.
The order cannot be maintained and collapsed without being updated. Order will only be achieved by continuous update. Philosophy shall aim and develop the real world order by understanding the world order including oneself and the logical of the world. Realization of world order and the development is the third role of the philosophy.
Sorry
Even if I get an email in English, I cannot answer.
©Toru Ichikawa