No.52 Referenced from ~ Part2 - Chapter 3 - Section 1-3 Is there no thought without a presupposition?
Consider the following scene. Two men are arguing in front of a single stick that looks like a cane. Both men say that the length of the stick is exactly one meter. However when they start talking about the origin of the stick, their views differ. One says it is a venerable “old man's walking stick,” while the other says it is “driftwood. Should we say that there is a difference in their perceptions? N.R.Hanson would say that they have different perceptions of this scene, since the judgment that the length is one meter is based on the back of their respective beliefs. However what does it mean to say that an action is "a different perception" when it is clear that the measured results are the same? Heraclitus once said, "No man ever steps in the same river twice," but here, would it be better to say, "They're looking at different sticks?" |