Page 36 [36]
OCR
(Wissen / Sein; knowledge / being), whereas self-consciousness (Selbst-bewuS&t-sein””) is already re-creating sameness, as the “personal 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 reminiscences, 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 representations 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 diversity 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.”
