In
other words knowledge of the laws that are controlling over it and of its
causes and effects is required. This is all essential before engaging in the
thinking process i.e. before connecting the reality to the information or the
information to the reality. Similarly it is necessary to make judgement upon
this reality along with its related information, its circumstances and
conditions. This is by measuring it to specific principles and given undisputed
intellectual accepted facts (axioms) so that all ambiguities can be cleaned
away and every obscurity removed. After this truthful sensation and the
confirmation of the correctness of this sensation, the sensation transfers to
the brain so that its opinion of it can be examined and its true reality
established. However the brain cannot to do this unless it obtains the
information that explains to it this reality.
This
applies in the same way whether this information was retained or gained. And
just as his sensation passes judgement upon a specific principle or principles
it is also necessary for the information explaining this reality to be judged upon
the same principle or principles that the sensation has been judged upon. This
means the measuring of the information upon firm principles and given accepted
intellectual facts (axioms) that confirm the correctness of the information.
This is so that it is not in opposition to the intellectual rational axioms
(indisputably accepted facts), what the sound mind necessitates. Thereafter the
mind undertakes the process of connecting between the reality and the information.
If the connection and linkage was correct then it would be an intellectual
result that is built upon the mind. Therefore the crucial point for
intellectual judgements to be considered to be built upon the ‘Aql
(mind/intellect) returns back to a collection of principles and axioms
((indisputably accepted facts) by which the reality is measured or by measuring
the information during the process of connecting by them.
As
such they are not considered as being built upon the mind merely as a result of
the ‘Aql making a judgement upon it. This is similar to mathematical equations
which are not solved without first putting down laws and formulae. The utilisation
of any incorrect rule or law would lead to an error in every solution that uses
that law or formula and will inevitably lead to the wrong result and even if he
proceeded to solve the problem in a correct manner (according to the wrong law
or formula). As for what these principles and indisputably accepted facts
(axioms) are? Then they are general thoughts and intellectual principles that the
sound mind has laid down to understand the partial thoughts and to issue
intellectual (rational) judgements i.e. to generate thoughts. These are like
the natural laws of physics in addition to chemical, mathematical, logarithmic
and square root laws amongst others. In every field of knowledge intellectual
axioms (accepted facts) have been laid down that are relied upon for
understanding.
This
is like the statement that two opposites cannot come together, that two is greater
than one, that the straight line is the shortest line between two points,
behind every effect their lies a cause and behind every system there lies an
organiser, amongst thousands of other principles in every area and field of
knowledge. Utilising these principles and intellectual axioms during the
thought process makes the result intellectual (rational) and built upon the
mind. However attempting to reconcile between existence (of a creator) and
non-existence or stopping the study when it is only half way along its path, or
relying on incidental matters or chance or upon matter being the source of thought,
then all of these in addition to being false are not suitable to be fundamental
principles to be used as measures and it is not valid to say that the thoughts
that are built upon them are thoughts that have been built upon the mind. This
is because building upon the mind necessitates that the basis that is built
upon is an intellectual (rational) basis. This means that the principle or
principles that are built upon during the connecting process are indeed
principles and measures taken from the intellectual (rational) axioms and
indeed from the obvious matters and truths that no two minds can rationally disagree
upon.
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