Reflection

Socrates may not have been the first Sceptic, but the novelty of his assertion 'I know that I do not know' might lie in its introduction of Reflection as philosophical methodology. Complicating any study of Reflection is that any such study is itself reflective. Furthermore, the word is ambiguous--only a slight spelling variation distinguishes a mental process from a mechanical one, i. e. reflex; it does not in itself distinguish between the act of reflecting from what is reflected upon; and 'reflective' can describe both the subject of the act as well as a surface, e. g. a mirror being observed. In any case, what seems less complicated is that in Reflection, one treats oneself as an object of consideration, which means that one must take an outside perspective on oneself, which entails internalizing oneself imagistically or conceptually. This process of internalization is also Temporalization, because what is reflected upon must precede the reflecting upon it, e. g. one must already be walking if one is to become aware that one is walking. In other words, Reflection creates the structure of successiveness that is the essence of Time. The act is also retentive, since it holds in place what has just transpired, and, hence, is the foundation of Memory. Thus, Time is essentially cumulative, since the later moment retains the earlier one. Finally, contrary to theories of Consciousness which construe it as a relation between a Mind and some outer object, e. g. the consciousness of a chair, Consciousness is fundamentally reflective--e. g. one's 'consciousness of a chair' is actually one's consciousness of one's looking at a chair. In other words, Consciousness is fundamentally Self-Consciousness, and, hence, is fundamentally an act of Reflection, even at the most rudimentary organic level, i. e. kinaesthesia.