Monday, February 9, 2009

Trees and Tables

Back to the table... This is a possibility that came to mind: the wood (or tree) has an unhuman made Form (and can therefore be referred to as natural - I am also defining natural/artificial through this), and the table has a human made Form (and is therefore artificial). The (prehuman existing) mental (thought/conscious) element of the Form is in the wood/tree, within which there is a mental bluprint, and mental atom-like things to solidify/manifest the wood/tree. The table exists as a human manipulation (unnatural) of the Form of the wood/tree. I am working this around the notions described in Timaeus (and elsewhere). Thought must travel through a receptacle for something to manifest. One is dependent on the other, as can be seen in Parmenides explanation of the one and being. One is dependent on being, and being dependent on one (one is analogous to thought, and being to receptacle, or vice-versa; it doesn't really matter, no pun intended). The Form is thought which must travel through receptacle, of which the nature is partially the blueprint of the Form and the thinking atom-like things described above. The receptacle is molding-like-stuff to manifest thought/Forms, and also contains the potential for other thinking beings (humans) to mold what it contains (i.e. humans manipulating wood to mold a table). Whether through the nonhuman mind, within which is the realm of Forms (trees), or through the mind of humans (tables), the object exists as thought prior to being manifest.

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