Re: Inquiry Driven Systems

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3.2.  Reflective Inquiry.  Note 4

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3.2.2.  Apparitions and Allegations (cont.)

If one asks what apparitions and allegations have in common, it seems to be
that they share the character of signs.  If one asks what character divides
them, it is said to be that apparitions are more likely to be generated by
an object in and of itself while allegations are more likely to be generated
by an interpreter in reaction to an alleged or apparent object.  Nevertheless,
even if one agrees to countenance both apparitions and allegations as a pair
of especially specious species of signs, whose generations are differentially
attributed to objects and to interpreters, respectively, and whose variety
runs through a spectrum of intermediate variations, there remains a number
of subtleties still to be recognized.

For instance, when one speaks of an "appearance" of a sign, then one is
usually talking about a "token" of that type of sign, as it appears in
a particular locus and as it occurs on a particular occasion, all of
which further details can be specified if required.  If this common
usage is to be squared with calling apparitions a species of signs,
then talk about an "appearance" of an apparition must have available
to it a like order of interpretation.  And thus what looks like
a higher order apparition, in other words, an apparition of an
apparition, is in fact an even more particular occurrence,
specialized appearance, or special case of sign.  At this
point I have to let go of the subject for now, since the
general topic of "higher order signs", their variety and
interpretation, is one that occupies a much broader
discussion later on in this work.

Any action that an interpreter takes to detach the presumed actuality of
the sign from the presumed actuality of its object, at least in so far as
the sign appears to present itself as denoting, depicting, or describing
a particular object, remains a viable undertaking and a valuable exercise
to attempt, no matter what hidden agenda, ulterior motive, or intentional
object is conceivably still invested in the apparition or the allegation.
If there is an object, property, or situation in reality that is in fact
denoted or represented by one of these forms of adversion and allusion,
then one says that there is a basis for acting on them, a justification
for believing in them, a motivation for taking them seriously, a reason
for treating them as true, or a foundation that is capable of lending
support to their prima facie evidence.

Jon Awbrey

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