The Idea of Freedom 135CHAPTER 9
THE IDEA OF FREEDOM
For cognition, the concept of a tree is determined by the
percept of a tree. Faced with a specific percept, I can se-
lect only a very specific concept out of the general con-
ceptual system. The connection between a concept and a
percept is indirectly and objectively determined by think-
ing about the percept. The percept’s connection with its
concept is recognizedafter the act of perception; but their
belonging together is determined by the situation itself.
The process presents itself differently when we exam-
ine cognition itself or the relationship between human be-
ings and the world through cognition. In the preceding
discussion, an attempt was made to show that it is possible
to clarify this relationship through unprejudiced observa-
tion. A proper understanding of such observation leads to
the insight that thinking can be beheld directly as a self-
enclosed entity. Those who find it necessary to explain
thinking as such by appealing to something else—such as
physical processes in the brain or unconscious mental
processes lying behind observed, conscious thinking—