pure, but

modifica

ourselves.

which modifies us; second, our modification; and, sations third, ourselves who are modified. The first of only as these activities is the object of our perception of tions of body; the third, the object of our perception of ourselves it remains for us to consider the second, our own modification, or sensation itself. The sensation or modification of ourselves is certainly what stimulates our intellectual attention to perceive bodies and ourselves. But our sensation is not the body which produces it, neither is it we ourselves. What is it, then? Do we perceive it? If we consider its nature, we see clearly that it is a passive act of our feeling, and that we ourselves are a feeling susceptible of various modifications. We see, moreover, that this modification of the wefeeling is produced by the action of an external agent. But all this knowledge concerning sensation we now have through reflection. Does it, therefore, fall within perception? Here again we must appeal to fact, so that we may not be misled by capricious theories, and put a false construction on the nature of things. Now, the fact tells that that reflection does not and cannot fall under perception alone. And, indeed, what is perception but the affirmation of a real being? Now, is sensation by itself a real being? Of course not. It is only a certain passive actuality or quality of a being. Hence, on the occasion of sensations, we never perceive the sensation alone. We always perceive ourselves who are beings, and it is only as united to us that sensation is perceived as a modification of ourselves.

Does perception take place directly or through reasoning?

90.

This enables us to solve the somewhat difficult question so often put by philosophers: Does the perception of beings take place directly or through the medium of reasoning? Our reply is that it takes place directly, by means of a simple judgment, and without any reasoning. We add, however, that this judgment is followed by reflection, which breaks it up into a process of reasoning. This reasoning, although the product of the reflection itself, and entirely distinct from perception, leaves upon us the impression that a secret process of reasoning has taken place in the act of perception itself, although it really has not.

This is easily explained. Perception is a synthetic judgment of objectivity, made by nature, and does not therefore, as such, enter into consciousness. The becoming conscious (das Bewusstwerden), the cognition, is the analysis of the judgment made by reflection. Things are really presented to the intelligence as objects, that is, as feelings already combined with being, or, which is the same thing, inhering in substance. What the intelligence does is to analyze these compounds, separating substance, which is the same for all things, from the sensible modifications which alone constitute real differences. Every act of cognition, therefore, is a separation of substance and accident. Judgment gives us cognition; reflection, recognition, in both senses of that term. When I reflect upon a cognitive judgment pronounced spontaneously, I cognize, in a new and indirect way, what I had previously cognized directly, and I also acknowledge my previous cognition as mine.

91.

which re

translates

ception of

The process by which reflection translates Process by our perception of ourselves is the following:- flection When the human spirit receives a sensation, it the perimmediately perceives that there is a reality. But ourselves. reality is always an entity which must belong to a being. Now, the mere reality of sensation is not itself a being. Therefore, if this reality, which must pertain to a being, is not itself a being, there must exist a being to which it belongs and whose actuality it is. Therefore a being subsists. Such is the reasoning that seems to take place in every perception. Properly speaking, however, this reasoning is the work of reflection, which insinuates itself unawares into perception. In fact, perception is the affirmation of a being. Therefore, there is no perception until the spirit How has said to itself that there is a being-has pro- this nounced the last proposition in the above process belongs to of reasoning: A being subsists. The other pro- percep positions, therefore, are prior to perception. But before perception there is no process of reasoning, since human thought regarding reality begins with perception. Hence the process in question does not properly belong to perception, but is the work of reflection. How, then, does perception take place? Blindly?

"I am a being that thinks itself, therefore I am a substance. The substance of the Ego is a feeling, because the Ego feels. I always feel myself the same in all the various operations which I perform; and when I am per

much of

reflection

forming no operation, I feel myself still, because I live, and feel that I live, essentially. This Ego is, therefore, a fundamental feeling. because all other sensations are based on it. It requires no other sensations; it is per se; we never can be without ourselves; all sensations require an essential feeling, because all possible sensations are but modifications of us. With the feeling Ego, therefore, we feel a being, a substance, a subject (that is, a living sentient principle). In this way, if we think this feeling, we perceive a substance. It is, therefore, a substance that we perceive immediately, and this substance is ourselves" (New Essay, vol. iii. §§ 1195, 1196).

Perception does not take place blindly.

Of course not.

92.

On the contrary, it takes place in full light. As soon as we feel ourselves modified, we pronounce the existence of ourselves, because we pronounce nothing else than the existence of a being. When we have a sensation, the first thing we see is the being in which the sensation inheres, the being modified. Before we perceive being, sensation is but a feeling. Given this feeling, we directly affirm the principle of it. This principle is inseparable from it, so inseparable, indeed, that the feeling cannot be known, just as it cannot exist, without it, that is, without the being in which it is. Feeling, therefore, incites us to affirm not only the feeling itself, but also the being in which it inheres, and, hence, to perceive the being and the feeling in the being simultaneously.

Rosmini holds that the sensations do not excite the intelligence directly; but that, when a need is created in

the sensitive nature, the Ego puts forth, in order to satisfy it, all its forces, and among them its intellectual ones. "In this way, the sense, without acting directly on the intelligence, occasions intellectual movement. The sense excites the Ego, which possesses the intelligence, to put in activity this intelligence itself. The unity of the Ego, therefore, in which sense and intelligence come together, is the mediator and path of communication between these two entirely different powers" (New Essay, vol. iii. § 1258, n.).

93.

verned by

ciple of

This necessity which constrains us intellec- It is tively to perceive sensation as in the sentient the prinbeing, and not as standing by itself, is, when substance. formulated into a general principle, called the principle of substance, and may be thus expressed: Whenever the feeling is a reality which does not by itself constitute a being capable of forming an object of perception, intellective perception does not stop short at this reality, but affirms the being to which that reality belongs.

"When we, intelligent beings, supply being to sensitive perception, we thereby form the idea of substance, that is, of a being conceived by us as existing in itself and not in another. When we supply being to the intellective perception of an action, then we form the idea of cause, that is, of a substance performing an action. The act of our understanding is the same in the formation of the idea of cause and in the formation of the idea of substance. Both operations consist in supplying being to that which feeling or perception furnishes to us. This is possible

In a note the author says, "By this supplying of being, we do not create it or make it emanate from ourselves. On the contrary, it is given to us to intuite from the first moment of our existence."