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第51章

phenomenology of mind-第51章

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a self…same consciousness; is here neither more nor less than an absolutely fortuitous embroglio;
the giddy whirl of a perpetually self…creating disorder。 This is what it takes itself to be; for itself
maintains and produces this self…impelling confusion。 Hence it even confesses the fact; it owns to
being; an entirely fortuitous individual consciousness — a consciousness which is empirical; which
is directed upon what admittedly has no reality for it; which obeys what; in its regard; has no
essential being; which realizes and does what it knows to have no truth。 But while it passes in this
manner for an individual; isolated。 contingent; in fact animal life; and a lost self…consciousness; it
also; on the contrary; again turns itself into universal self…sameness; for it is the negativity of all
singleness and all difference。 From this self…identity; or rather within its very self; it falls back once
more into that contingency and confusion; for this very self…directed process of negation has to do
solely with what is single and individual; and is occupied with what is fortuitous。 This form of
consciousness is; therefore; the aimless fickleness and instability of going to and fro; hither and
thither; from one extreme of self…same self…consciousness; to the other contingent; confused and
confusing consciousness。 It does not itself bring these two thoughts of itself together。 It finds its
freedom; at one time; in the form of elevation above all the whirling complexity and all the
contingency of mere existence; and again; at another time; likewise confesses to falling back upon
what is unessential; and to being taken up with that。 It lets the unessential content in its thought
vanish; but in that very act it is the consciousness of something unessential。 It announces absolute
disappearance but the announcement is; and this consciousness is the evanescence expressly
announced。 It announces the nullity of seeing; hearing; and so on; yet itself sees and hears。 It
proclaims the nothingness of essential ethical principles; and makes those very truths the sinews of
its own conduct。 Its deeds and its words belie each other continually; and itself; too; has the
doubled contradictory consciousness of immutability and sameness; and of utter contingency and
non…identity with itself。 But it keeps asunder the poles of this contradiction within itself; and bears
itself towards the contradiction as it does in its purely negative process in general。 If sameness is
shown to it; it points out unlikeness; non…identity; and when the latter; which it has expressly
mentioned the moment before; is held up to it; it passes on to indicate sameness and identity。 Its
talk; in fact; is like a squabble among self…willed children; one of whom says A when the other
says B; and again B; when the other says A; and who; through being in contradiction with
themselves; procure the joy of remaining in contradiction with one another。 

In Scepticism consciousness gets; in truth; to know itself as a consciousness containing
contradiction within itself。 From the experience of this proceeds a new attitude which brings
together the two thoughts which Scepticism holds apart。 The want of intelligence which Scepticism
manifests regarding itself is bound to vanish; because it is in fact one consciousness which
possesses these two modes within it。 This new attitude consequently is one which is aware of
being the double consciousness of itself as self…liberating; unalterable; self…identical; and as utterly
self…confounding; self…perverting; and this new attitude is the consciousness of this contradiction
within itself。 

In Stoicism; self…consciousness is the bare and simple freedom of itself。 In Scepticism; it realizes
itself; negates the other side of determinate existence; but; in so doing; really doubles itself; and is
itself now a duality。 In this way the duplication; which previously was divided between two
individuals; the lord and the bondsman; is concentrated into one。 Thus we have here that dualizing
of self…consciousness within itself; which lies essentially in the notion of mind; but the unity of the
two elements is not yet present。

                        The Unhappy Consciousness

Hence the Unhappy Consciousness (1) the Alienated Soul which is the consciousness of self as a
divided nature; a doubled and merely contradictory being。 

This unhappy consciousness; divided and at variance within itself; must; because this contradiction
of its essential nature is felt to be a single consciousness; always have in the one consciousness the
other also; and thus must be straightway driven out of each in turn; when it thinks it has therein
attained to the victory and rest of unity。 Its true return into itself; or reconciliation with itself; will;
however; display the notion of mind endowed with a life and existence of its own; because it
implicitly involves the fact that; while being an undivided consciousness; it is a
double…consciousness。 It is itself the gazing of one self…consciousness into another; and itself is
both; and the unity of both is also its own essence; but objectively and consciously it is not yet this
essence itself — is not yet the unity of both。 

Since; in the first instance; it is the immediate; the implicit unity of both; while for it they are not one
and the same; but opposed; it takes one; namely; the simple unalterable; as essential; the other; the
manifold and changeable as the unessential。 For it; both are realities foreign to each other。 Itself;
because consciousness of this contradiction; assumes the aspect of changeable consciousness and
is to itself the unessential; but as consciousness of unchangeableness; of the ultimate essence; it
must; at the same time; proceed to free itself from the unessential; i。e。 to liberate itself from itself。
For though in its own view it is indeed only the changeable; and the unchangeable is foreign and
extraneous to it; yet itself is simple; and therefore unchangeable consciousness; of which
consequently it is conscious as its essence; but still in such wise that itself is again in its own regard
not this essence。 The position; which it assigns to both; cannot; therefore; be an indifference of one
to the other; i。e。 cannot be an indifference of itself towards the unchangeable。 Rather it is
immediately both itself; and the relation of both assumes for it the form of a relation of essence to
the non…essential; so that this latter has to be cancelled; but since both are to it equally essential
and are contradictory; it is only the conflicting contradictory process in which opposite does not
come to rest in its own opposite; but produces itself therein afresh merely as an opposite。 

Here then; there is a struggle against an enemy; victory over whom really means being worsted;
where to have attained one result is really to lose it in the opposite。 Consciousness of life; of its
existence and action; is merely pain and sorrow over this existence and activity; for therein
consciousness finds only consciousness of its opposite as its essence — and of its own
nothingness。 Elevating itself beyond this; it passes to the unchangeable。 But this elevation is itself
this same consciousness。 It is; therefore; immediately consciousness of the opposite; viz。 of itself as
single; individual; particular。 The unchangeable; which comes to consciousness; is in that very fact
at the same time affected by particularity; and is only present with this latter; Instead of
particularity having been abolished in the consciousness of immutability; it only continues to appear
there still。 

In this process; however; consciousness experiences just this appearance of particularity in the
unchangeable; and of the unchangeable in particularity。 Consciousness becomes aware of
particularity in general in the immutable essence; and at the same time it there finds its own
particularity。 For the truth of this process is precisely that the double consciousness is one and
single。 This unity becomes a fact to it; but in the first instance the unity is one in which the diversity
of both factors is still the dominant feature。 Owing to this; consciousness has before it the

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