Thinking in the Service of Understanding the World 43thing that was supported by itself, not by something else.
In thinking, we have a principle that exists through itself.
Starting with thinking, then, let us attempt to understand
the world. We can grasp thinking through itself. The only
question is whether we can also grasp anything else
through it.
Thus far I have spoken of thinking without giving ac-
count of its vehicle, human consciousness. Most contem-
porary philosophers would object that there has to be a
consciousness before there can be thinking. According to
them, we should therefore proceed from consciousness
and not from thinking, since there would be no thinking
without consciousness. To this I would have to reply that
if I want to understand the relationship between thinking
and consciousness, I must think about it. Therefore I pre-
suppose thinking. One can certainly still reply that, if a
philosopher wishes tounderstand consciousness, then he
or she makes use of thinking, and presupposes it to that
extent; yet, in the normal course of life, thinking arises
within consciousness and therefore presupposes the lat-
ter. If this answer were given to the creator of the world,
who wanted to make thinking from scratch, then it would
doubtless be justified. Naturally, the creator could not let
thinking arise without first having consciousness come
about. For philosophers, however, it is not a question of
creating the world but of understanding it. Hence they do
not need to seek a starting point for creating the world, but
rather one for understanding it. I find it very peculiar
when people reproach philosophers for concerning them-
selves in the first place with the correctness of their prin-