Thursday, November 1, 2012

Why?

I'm trying to write little bit of a phenomenology of everyday life for practice. Here's a phenomenology of the question, "why?" .... Because, why not? (I couldn't resist) No idea if this makes sense, but it's my first attempt! 

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We might ask ourselves what the most important question is, but doesn't even this asking require a preceding question? The "What" here must necessarily come after a conception of "Why?" When asking What one is inquiring about the nature of something. It's a simple inspection of properties which presuppose some short of shared understanding of that which is the focus of our attention. That which is the subject of my asking immediately becomes an object of inspection. Scientists are very good at answering questions of "What?" Epistemologists are skilled at answering "How?", but one should consult a metaphysician for an attempt at "Why?". An answer might not be available because unlike determining the properties of something in order to determine why something is, we might not have a shared conception of it. In fact its conception is that which is most elusive, prompting an originary examination. "What" is not the only question we can ask although it would sometimes seem that it is such given the way we tend to speak. All we must do is start with experience and explain it without diminishing it. To ask what is to always already restrict an experience. The phenomena that are associated with asking the question "Why" relate to an overflowing of being. This excess is demonstrated in the imaginations ability to perceive that which is through a reference to that which isn't.  Curiosity finds it force in going beyond what is. This is why "Why" finds it relevance in metaphysics as it is that which is beyond the physical. 


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