"In order to make sense, I must have sense, and there are no rules for this. I have been arguing this point in the form of a defense of intuition, but it needs to be emphasized that the term 'intuition' itself has many senses. My argument cannot thus be intended as a 'theory' of intuition in the constructive sense of the term. On the contrary I am claiming that theory construction is possible only on the basis of intuition, and further, that analytical thinking is saturated with intuition at each step. A complete and exact science of semantics would then be a 'looking' as well as a 'talking.' We can of course talk about what we have seen, but there is no argument in heaven or on earth that will take us across the gap from seeing to talking." (p.18)
"If a structure then is a combination of forms, it is also true that forms possess structure. Another way of saying this is that there can be no such thing as a non-circular, exact, and complex analysis of a structure. At some primitive stage we have to see the structure as a candidate for analysis, and what we see is antecedent to, not the result of, the process of analysis." (p.29)h
"[I]t makes no sense to talk of analysis apart from reference to intuition. I now add that it makes no sense to talk of the analysis of structure, and so of sense, if by 'analysis' we mean merely the replacement of one structure by another." (p.33)
"If to talk is to construct, then there is no distinction between a true and a false proposition. The distinction between truth and falsehood rests upon a distinction between what we say and what we say it about. But this distinction cannot be drawn unless we are able to see what we are talking about, independently of the discursive aspect of the given act of talking." (p.36)
"The positive task of the philosopher is to fecundate his analytical skills with dreams, and to discipline his dreams with analysis." (p.260)
Stanley Rosen
No comments:
Post a Comment