What is particular about the way “red” comes
is that it comes while you're philosophizing about it, as what
is particular about the position of your body when you concentrated
on it was concentration.
We appear to ourselves to be on the verge of giving a
characterization of the “way” || describing the
way, whereas we aren't really opposing
it to any other way.
We are emphasizing, not comparing, but we express ourselves as though
this emphasis was really a comparison of the object with itself; there
seems to be a reflexive comparison.
Let me express myself in this way: suppose I speak of the
way in which A enters the room, I may say, “I have noticed
the way in which A enters the room”, and on being asked,
“What is it?”, I may answer,
“He always sticks his head into the room before coming
in.”
Here I'm referring to a definite feature, and I could say
that B had the same way, or that A no longer had it.
Consider on the other hand the statement, “I've
now been observing the way A sits and smokes.”
I want to draw him like this.
In this case I needn't be ready to give any description of a
particular feature of his attitude, and my statement may just mean,
“I've been observing A as he sat and
smoked.” ‒ ‒
“The way” can't in this case be separated
from him.
Now if I wished to draw him as he sat there, and was contemplating,
studying, his attitude, I should while doing so be inclined to say and
repeat to myself, “He has a particular way of
sitting.”
But the answer to the question, “What
way?” would be, “Well, this
way”, and perhaps one would give it by drawing the
characteristic outlines of his attitude.
On the other hand, my phrase, “He has a particular
way … ”, might
130.
just have to be
translated into, “I'm contemplating his
attitude.”
Putting it in this form we have, as it were, straightened out
the proposition; || our expression; whereas in its first form
its meaning seems to describe a loop, that is to say, the word
“particular” here seems to be used transitively and,
more particularly, reflexively, i.e., we are
regarding its use as a special case of the transitive use.
We are inclined to answer the question, “What way do you
mean?” by “This way”,
instead of answering: “I didn't refer to any
particular feature; I was just contemplating his
position.”
My expression made it appear as though I was pointing out something
about his way of sitting, or, in our previous case, about
the way the word “red” came, whereas what makes me use
the word “particular” here is that by my attitude
towards the phenomenon I am laying an emphasis on
it: I am concentrating on it, or retracing
it in my mind, or drawing it, etc. |
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