So and, subject and object

 


It seems to me that one of the most difficult problems both on a personal

and collective basis has been and continues to be the issue of the distinction

between subject and object.  Clearly it is a terrific problem in the

area of science, because it is the most fundamental issue as to what

science is when we try to describe science , but also reflects back on a 

very personal way to all of us in our immediate lives.  It figures into how we 

relate to each other as well as how we interact in collective environments 

such as work environments, families, education and various other situations

that we personally find ourselves in every day.


IMHO, it has not been make particularly easier by the extraordinary

advances in technology and the availability of technology  in the

past several decades, but I also think that the fundamental problem

has not changed that much in the last several thousand years.  Also

I think how we grapple with it reflects on a very deep level to who

we are personally and collectively.


So to examine the problem, consider the example of looking at

the flame in a candle.  When you examine this situation you do

find that as you examine it, it becomes quite murky, in the sense

that, where to you start and were  the candle light ends or 

visa, versa. is difficult to determine.  In other words, how do you 

distinguish the you that is observing and the  the subject of the 

observation.


At this point I am not going to pursue, looking further into

the the nature of this problem, but clearly it is a deep problem

when we examine the issue of exchanges in economics, in

which the problem of subject and object becomes extremely

complex in all kinds of ways in both personal and collective

ways.  Also I might say that in many ways the topics of

topology in mathematics reflect a pretty cohesive effort

in examining this illusive issue.


It is necessary for me to mention that in Buddhist texts

this is an issue that have been examined extensively from

various perspectives.   But really I am only trying to

point at the problem at this time.


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