질성적 사고의 통합적 인식작용에 비추어 본 앎의 성격

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to redefine and reconstruct the nature of knowing in the light of integrating perceptive power of qualitative thinking, alternative to the traditional and conventional view of rational thinking and knowing. In this study, Dewey’s concept of ‘an experience’ is analyzed and scrutinized in relation to a new idea of qualitative thought, in order to reconceptualize the trait of knowing and propositional statement. According to traditional Western philosophy, human being is characteristic of reason and rational thinking; nature of reality and essence. Therefore the virtue of human being is in that he is to inquire into nature by utilizing the ability of reason in an appropriate way so as to find out eternal truths. These are regarded to be the essence and reality of natural things. Knowledge as propositional statement is taken to be objective and valid and to be true in itself. From traditional view, experience is looked upon as a barrier to prevent or a veil to cut off us from true knowledge. However, Dewey takes the position exactly opposite to traditional view of experience. For Dewey, the primary and sole way by means of which human being as an unified organism of body and mind contacts and confronts the world directly is experience. Simply speaking, experience is to interact and transact human being with surrounding environment. It is a situation that he confronts in experience first and directly. It consists of a complicate and integrated totality and its own unique quality. When human being confronts a situation in a direct and primary way, he naturally and almost automatically perceives and captures the whole quality of a situation as ‘total seizure’. The thinking ability to seize a total quality is coined into 'qualitative thought(QT)’ by Dewey. QT is the most basic and universal mode of thought in that man apprehends a total quality naturally and instantly. Besides, intellectual thought is dependent upon qualitative thought. QT functions as the prime basis and foundation to operate reason. More importantly, It is QT, not intellectual thought that is able to apprehend the trait of a whole experiential situation. QT has the ability and power of 'integrated thought’ to capture a totality including both intellectual content and qualitative whole, even in the process of intellectual thought. Intellectual mode of thought draws out and abstracts statements and propositional knowledge from integration. Knowing captured by integrated thought is far deeper and wider than that of propositional descriptions and statements expressed by language and symbol. In summary, propositional statements as knowledge are only abstract and partial compared to the original content captured by QT. They can be meaningful and properly understand only in relation to total knowing as its background.