Single Idea 15625

[catalogued under 12. Knowledge Sources / C. Rationalism / 1. Rationalism]

Full Idea

What can be perceived by the senses is really secondary and not self-standing, while thoughts, on the contrary, are what is genuinely independent and primitive.

Gist of Idea

Sense perception is secondary and dependent, while thought is independent and primitive

Source

Georg W.F.Hegel (Logic (Encyclopedia I) [1817], §41 Add2)

Book Reference

Hegel,Georg W.F.: 'The Hegel Reader', ed/tr. Houlgate,Stephen [Blackwell 1998], p.154


A Reaction

Although this is post-Kant, it strikes me as a perfect slogan for rationalism. Personally I would say that such a dichotomy is becoming a historical relic, in the light of modern understanding of the brain. Experience and thought are inextricable.