(4) Premises & Outline

Premises

I begin by assuming that everyone comes to this reading from different histories, different aspects of intelligence, different philosophical and educational backgrounds, different sets of horizons and, perhaps, different philosophical interests. I also assume (and will explain) that we all can question and critique our own philosophical background and its development using a general framework and measure. And I assume we all can continue to grow no matter what heights of knowledge and wisdom we may have already reached.

However, I also assume (and will explain) a common centerpiece for all of those differences and for all of that knowledge and wisdom; and there is a freedom in knowing what that centerpiece is and how it works. My further premise, then, is your lively potential for self-knowledge of the kind that Lonergan and others refer to as self-appropriation. Thus, regardless of your history, background, intelligence, present horizon or position, or stated and unstated interest, you are endowed with a spontaneous wonder that is operating in all of your common awareness. Through that wonder you can inquire about and discover something about that wonder itself, and come to understand more thoroughly this one newly-discovered aspect and moment in your own thought; and further, you can share your knowledge of your discovery with others.

Moreover, through acquiring such knowing, you can initiate the development of an excellent place from which to look back on your own history of thought; from which to stand in a deepening appreciation of human being-in-the-present; and from which to look forward to a continuing transformation in your own development and education in history. Thus, my premise is also that, first, you can finish the present work, leaving the project with your lively potential for development clearly known to you, and therefore enhanced; and second, that you can leave this project with a clear recognition and knowledge of the law of sufficient reason that operates within you, and with your own good and critical judgment in tact, known to you, and therefore also enhanced.

On these premises, I write this work to help you understand a little more about philosophy; to help you “turn inward;” to self-understand and self-correct while you are in the process of driving your life; to attend to your “data of sense and of consciousness” in critical fashion; to “catch yourself in the act” of wonder and what follows, and to come up with solid and well-defined evidence that you can return to, again and again, as a living centerpiece of your own self-knowledge and, thus, of all other knowledge.


Outline

First, I prepare you by introducing some distinctions, by raising some questions for your own foundational review, and by developing some historical context and background insights in early chapters. This context will include a brief excursion into a theory of language (a later chapter goes into more theoretical detail) and a reflection on the uniqueness of transcendental method. Let me say now that this development is essential to your correct, thorough, and full understanding of the later material presented here. To that end, these chapters are equipped with suggestions for essay-writing for portfolio development and assessments in formal educational settings (Reflection and Discussion Points).

Second, I present to you in brief but thorough fashion a theory of knowledge, a cognitional theory, and a theory of fundamental attitudes, and relate these theories to your history and to your own language (Piscitelli, 1985).

Third, I present precise pedagogical procedures to guide you towards self-discovery, self-understanding, self-verification, and self-knowledge.

Fourth, we go through the process of verifying the theory through referencing actual and well-traveled cognitional procedures in others and, more importantly, in your own experience. Drawing from my experience as a teacher, I find that small-group conversational sessions provide the optimum conditions for insights to occur.

Fifth, and again, we practice and develop your knowledge of your discoveries in each chapter through writing and talking exercises so that you can repeat the reflective practices and verification procedure whenever you want to.

Sixth, we go over the optimum conditions for your personal identification with those cognitional procedures—the self-appropriation process.

Seventh, this is only a beginning. Thus we consider some reflections, implications, and applications that will point you towards some deeper insights that I hope will follow this precise and brief procedure, should you continue from this base in your own philosophical journey.

Eighth, in those applications, I suggest a broader use of transcendental method and self-appropriation in the development of foundational review of the professions and fields. Here, we point to Lonergan’s development of the functional specialties to help frame a dialogue about the foundations of sciences, fields, and professions.

Ninth, I point to other works-in-the-making that take TM and many of our own sources as their foundation.

In the quote at the beginning of this Preface, Frederick Crowe suggests that such exercises might be “boring” once they have been incorporated into education and generally understood. Of course I hope the present work avoids boring you; however, I do think that, before you understand the depth-of-implication in the process, you will find the exercises themselves quite simple, especially if taken as a merely-psychological exercise.