Will, Comprehension, Ouroboros

The thesis being proposed here, that the immediate matter of Comprehension is Will, opposes two traditional notions. One, that the immediate object of Consciousness is some external object, has already been discussed at length. The other originates with Aristotle's ideal of 'thought thinking itself', i. e. that the immediate object of Knowledge is Knowledge itself. While that ideal is inspired by his appreciation of the perfection of circular motion, he does not distinguish between virtuous and vicious circularity. Hence, the efforts of the tradition that he founds are often suitably symbolized by the image of the latter--Ouroboros, the snake trying to swallow its own tail--especially where that circularity is not only recognized but deified, e. g. Hegel, Fichte, early Sartre. On the other hand, whether or not the snake that Zarathustra wrestles with is Ouroboros is debatable. In any case, that Will is the immediate matter of Comprehension codifies Kant's insight that Knowledge can know itself only as it appears to itself, not as it is in itself.