Now, essence that the world thinks of is based on the image that it is “a root of a thing” and usually, means “a fundamentally important attribute of a thing.”
However, what is “important” and how “important” can vary from person to person.
Many people don’t seem to realize it, but essence that the world thinks of is a subjective “opinion” about attributes of a thing.
In contrast, just as essence of water, “a universal characteristic of water,” is an objective “fact,” which cannot vary from person to person, essence, “a universal characteristic of a thing,” is an objective “fact” that cannot vary from person to person.
It is also an objective “fact” that essence, that is “a universal characteristic of a thing” is “a root of how we see a thing,” which cannot vary from person to person.
Also, the world believes that not only a universal thing but also an individual thing has essence. For example, we hear the phrase “essence of this problem.” Since “this problem” is an individual thing, the phrase “essence of this problem” is based on the idea that an individual thing has essence.
However, an individual thing has only individual attributes.
A universal attribute is what individual attribute is recognized in the brain as a universal attribute, that is an attribute that is common to all of a thing.
Hence, an individual thing does not have a kind of universal attribute, “a universal characteristic of a thing,” that is essence.
Namely, essence the world thinks of is far from “ a universal characteristic of a thing,” that is essence.
Again, the world does not understand “what essence is.”
Furthermore, what the world does not understand is not only “what essence is.”
The world does not know “what a thing is” for most of the things in this world (real world).
Most of the things in this world that the world thinks of are not “a things itself” defined by essence.
Most of the things in this world that the world thinks of are only “something like a thing” defined by accidence.
As already mentioned, the fundamental things in nature are “a thing itself.”
However, while there are countless kinds of things in this world, the kinds of the fundamental things in nature defined by essence are not more than a tiny fraction.
For example, a cat that the world thinks of is not “a cat itself” but only “something like a cat.”
In fact, many answers to the question “what are some of universal characteristics of the cat?” would be “round eyes,” “triangular ears,” or “meow” that are specific to a cat.
However, these are all “an attribute that is common to a part (including one) of a cat,” that are accidence of a cat.
Few people know “a universal characteristic of a cat,” that is essence of a cat.
For example, if there is a gene that is specific to a cat, it would be a kind of essence of a cat, because it is “a universal characteristic of a cat,” but few people know about the gene that is specific to a cat.
Even if one knows a gene that is specific to a cat, it does not mean that one recognizes a cat as a cat because one can see it.
A cat in the brain of those who know a gene that is specific to a cat is also “a cat like” defined by accidence such as “round eyes,” “triangular ears,” and “meow.”
In the same way, all things in society that the world thinks of are “something like a thing.”
In the first place, “society” is only “something like society.”
There are still many theories about “what society is,” and they do not seem to have been consolidated into one.
There is no consensus on essence of society, “a universal characteristic of society.”
Furthermore, value, the fundamental thing in society, is also “something like value.”
Essence of value, “a universal characteristic of value” is still a mystery.
Therefore, product value, a kind of value, is “something like product value.”
Work, activity that generates product value, is also “something like work.”
A worker, a person who does work, is also “something like a worker.”
A company, a group of workers, is also “something like a company.”
Humankind does not yet understand this world as it is.
Even if it thinks it understands, it does not understand.
It doesn’t even understand that it doesn’t understand.
In other words, humankind does not know that it is ignorant.
That would be why the world is slow to get better.
Move on to the previous article.
