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(Wissen / Sein; knowledge / being), whereas self-consciousness
(Selbst-bewuS&t-sein””) is already re-creating sameness, as the “per¬
sonal I”, the “self” (Selbst) will create a higher-level synthesis of
the two extremes. Consciousness will thus be the point at which
this unity is formed, which again brings to mind Kantian rem¬
iniscences, since transcendental apperception is also an act of
self-consciousness. What is this transcendental apperception?
Kant calls the “ego cogito” (I think) theorem a pure apperception,
which represents the unity of self-consciousness.
Combination does not lie in the objects, however, and cannot as it
were be borrowed from them through perception and by that means
first taken up into the understanding, but is rather only an operation
of the understanding, which is itself nothing further than the faculty
of combining a priori and bringing the manifold of given represen¬
tations under unity of apperception, which principle is the supreme
one in the whole of human cognition. (CPR. p.278. my emphasis)
Kant adds that this is the basic principle of cognition. The di¬
versity of experience provided by perception becomes associated
with the concept of the object through the transcendental unity
of apperception. (CPR p. 246, Kants Werke 1977. III. p.136.)'* This
takes place precisely through cognition: ego cogito - I think it. To
be clearer: when I think of a house, I think not only of the house,
but also that the person who thinks of the house is none other
than myself. That is, everything I imagine is accompanied by the
17 Literally: the personal existence-become-known-self-consciousness
18 ,The I think must be able to accompany all my representations; for otherwise
something would be represented in me that could not be thought at all, which
is as much as to say that the representation would either be impossible or
else at least would be nothing for me.” German: Ich denke, muß alle meine
Vorstellungen begleiten können; denn sonst würde etwas in mir vorgestellt
werden, was gar nicht gedacht werden könnte, welches eben so viel heißt,
als die Vorstellung würde entweder unmöglich, oder wenigstens für mich
nichts sein.”