Autor: Lonergan, Bernard J.F.

Buch: Topics in Education

Titel: Topics in Education

Stichwort: Von der Substanz zum Subjekt; Bewusstsein (Präsenz in drei Bedeutungen)

Kurzinhalt: THE DEVELOPING SUBJECT

Textausschnitt: Who is a man? Who is to be a man? The answer is 'I,' 'We.' That use of the first person supposes consciousness. What has to be a man is not just any instance of rational animal. It is one that is awake. Moreover, insofar as he is concerned with being a man, he is aware of potential triumph or potential failure, and aware of his own freedom and responsibility. (81; Fs)
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7/4 Such awareness is consciousness, and that consciousness is not to be thought of as thinking about oneself. One is conscious no matter what one is thinking about. Consciousness means that one is doing the thinking. Cognitional and volitional activity not only deals with objects, but also reveals the subject and his activity. To get hold of the notion of consciousness it is well to begin from the word 'presence.'
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8/4 There are, of course, different levels of consciousness. First, there is merely empirical consciousness: you hear the sounds but you are not worried about any meaning in them. Next, there is intellectual consciousness. Aristotle remarks that wonder is the beginning of all science and philosophy. One asks, What is it? Why? What does he mean? Where is he going? What is he up to? Then not just anyone is present, but someone intelligent is present. Empirical consciousness is simply presence in the third sense, but in intellectual consciousness, someone intelligent is present, actually intelligent, actively intelligent, wondering why and what and how and whither. Thirdly, there is rational consciousness.
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