{"id":10443,"date":"2026-05-27T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=10443"},"modified":"2025-11-08T15:27:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T15:27:49","slug":"looking-at-daniel-novotnys-book-2013-ens-rationis-from-suarez-to-caramuel-part-3-of-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=10443","title":{"rendered":"Looking at Daniel Novotny\u2019s Book (2013) “Ens Rationis from Suarez to Caramuel”\u00a0(Part 3 of 19)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

0020 How do thought experiments work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically, when reason is applied to the world of actuality, then the inquirer strives to eliminate contradictions.  This is the modern way.  This is the way of actuality.  As soon as one poses, in reason, a scenario that does not exist (or a nonbeing) and could be regarded in the manner of actuality (or existence, being)<\/em>, then the logic changes from eliminating contradictions<\/em> to excluding whatever makes the scenario less real<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0021 In this way, a thought experiment can find a truth within fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0022 Suarez sets up what moderns call \u201ca thought experiment\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allow me to go through the specifics of this thought experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To start, Suarez attaches a novel normal context to the word \u201cbeing\u201d.  He defines \u2018a being of reason\u2019 or beingin_reason<\/sup>.  This beingin_reason<\/sup> is a nonbeing.  It cannot exist.  It is not a beingitself<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, what does the word \u201cexistence\u201d indicate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It indicates actuality, the realm of actuality that corresponds to Peirce\u2019s secondness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0023 Suarez uses language to project a nonbeing into the realm of actuality.  This beingin_reason<\/sup> is inherently a contradiction.  So, reason cannot be used to eliminate contradictions.  Reason must be used to explore the scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0024 What is the prime motivation for doing this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suarez\u2019s thought experiment allows inquiry into nonbeing.  But, this is not an ordinary nonbeing, it is a nonbeing regarded in the manner of being<\/em>.  It does not simply not exist<\/em>.  It is thought of as if it does exist (as a beingitself<\/sup>)<\/em>, even though it does not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0025 I can put this into a category-based nested form in the following manner.  Reason3<\/sub> is the normal context.  Beingin_reason<\/sup>2<\/sub> is the actuality.  Knowing this particular character of nonbeing1<\/sub><\/em> is the inherent possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0026 How relevant is this nonbeing stuff?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Needless to say, I personally think that there are more reasons for asking about beingsin_reason<\/sup> than nonbeing, comparison, and holding contradictions in thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One motivation concerns \u2014 what I call \u2014 implicit and explicit abstraction.  The idea comes from An Archaeology of the Fall<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Lebenswelt that we evolved in<\/em>, our genus and our species practiced hand talk.  Hand talk favors implicit (or intuitive) abstraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, in our current Lebenswelt, speech-alone talk permits explicit (or symbolic) abstraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

0027 In order to get a picture of the difference between hand talk and our current way of talking, speech-alone talk, consider the following associations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

0028 I ask, “Which row goes with hand talk?  Which row goes with speech-alone talk?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me give you a hint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In hand talk (and in its more developed hybrid, hand-speech talk), words consist of what could be imaged or pointed to<\/em>.  Manual-brachial word gestures are ideal for picturing and indicating things and states of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In speech-alone talk, word-sounds do not image or point to anything.  Spoken words are placeholders in two arbitrarily related systems of differences<\/em>.  A word-sound is a placeholder linked, by convention, to a place-holding word-mental act.  One symbol links to another.  One symbolic order evokes the other.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

0020 How do thought experiments work? Typically, when reason is applied to the world of actuality, then the inquirer strives to eliminate contradictions.  This is the modern way.  This is the way of actuality.  As soon as one poses, in reason, a scenario that does not exist (or a nonbeing) and could be regarded in the manner of actuality (or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-unveiling-words"],"yoast_head":"\nLooking at Daniel Novotny\u2019s Book (2013) "Ens Rationis from Suarez to Caramuel"\u00a0(Part 3 of 19) - An Archaeology of the Fall<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=10443\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Looking at Daniel Novotny\u2019s Book (2013) "Ens Rationis from Suarez to Caramuel"\u00a0(Part 3 of 19) - An Archaeology of the Fall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"0020 How do thought experiments work? Typically, when reason is applied to the world of actuality, then the inquirer strives to eliminate contradictions.  This is the modern way.  This is the way of actuality.  As soon as one poses, in reason, a scenario that does not exist (or a nonbeing) and could be regarded in the manner of actuality (or […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/?p=10443\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"An Archaeology of the Fall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-27T08:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.raziemah.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Slide03.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.raziemah.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=10443#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.raziemah.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=10443\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.raziemah.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ad695f570ebd1b2a6f85c4ac5badcd04\"},\"headline\":\"Looking at Daniel Novotny\u2019s Book (2013) “Ens Rationis from Suarez to Caramuel”\u00a0(Part 3 of 19)\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-27T08:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.raziemah.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=10443\"},\"wordCount\":581,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.raziemah.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=10443#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.raziemah.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Slide03.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Unveiling words\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.raziemah.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=10443\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.raziemah.com\\\/blog\\\/?p=10443\",\"name\":\"Looking at Daniel Novotny\u2019s Book (2013) \\\"Ens Rationis from Suarez to Caramuel\\\"\u00a0(Part 3 of 19) - 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