3. Protoconsciousness, Image in Protoconsciousness, and Category
Protoconsciousness
According to the Divine Principle, “all beings in the creation grow by virtue of the autonomy and governance given by God’s Principle” (DP, 43). Autonomy and governance (or dominion) are characteristics of the life force. Life is the subconsciousness existing within the cells and tissues of living beings, and it has the capacity of sensitivity, perceptiveness, and purposiveness. Sensitivity is the ability to perceive the information of things intuitively; perceptiveness is the ability to maintain the state of perception; and purposiveness is the willpower to maintain and actualize a certain purpose.
“Protoconsciousness” here means original consciousness, and refers to that cosmic consciousness which has entered into a cell or tissue. From the perspective of the function of the mind, the protoconsciousness is the mind functioning on a lower level. 29 Therefore, it may be said to be a lower level function of the cosmic mind, or a lower level of God’s mind. Protoconsciousness is also life. Once the cosmic consciousness enters cells and tissues, it becomes individualized and we can call it protoconsciousness or life. In other words, life is that cosmic consciousness which has entered cells or tissues. Just as an electric wave enters a radio and produces sound, so, too, does cosmic consciousness enter cells and tissues and give them life. 30 In short, then, protoconsciousness is life, and it is subconsciousness with sensitivity, perceptiveness, and purposiveness. In Unification Thought it is asserted that when God created the universe through Logos, He inscribed all the information pertaining to each living being (i.e., Logos) in the cells of that being in the material form of a code. This code is the genetic code, which is a specific arrangement of the four kinds of bases (adenine, guanine, thymine, and cytosine) in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). This is because God wanted each living being to be able to multiply and maintain its species from generation to generation.
It is written in Genesis 2:7 that “the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” With regard to things in the natural world, it could also be said that “God formed cells out of dust and poured life into them. So the cells became living cells.” The cosmic consciousness which has entered into the cell is protoconsciousness, or life. Living beings become alive once cosmic consciousness has entered into their cells, tissues, and organs.
Function of Protoconsciousness
Let me explain the function of protoconsciousness. Protoconsciousness has various functions, including the reading of the genetic information (code), acting according to the direction of the information, and transmitting the information. Let me explain these in turn. First, when cosmic consciousness enters into a cell, it reads the genetic code of the DNA of that cell. Following its reading of the genetic code, the protoconsciousness then causes the cells and tissues to act according to the instructions contained in the code. It acts to make cells and tissues develop, and these and new organs to grow and to form relationships with other cells, tissues, and organs.
All this information about the cells and tissues is transmitted to the central nerves along the peripheral nerves (centripetal nerves), and the central nerves send directions to the cells and tissues through the peripheral nerves (centrifugal nerves). It is the protoconsciousness that transmits all this information; that is to say, the protoconsciousness plays the role of the giving and receiving of information between the center and cells and tissues. These are some of the functions of the protoconsciousness. All of these functions are based on the sensitivity, perceptivity, and purposiveness of the protoconsciousness. As the protoconsciousness carries these functions out over time, the protoimage and the image of relations develop, and become clearer.
Formation of the Image in Protoconsciousness
The subconsciousness within living beings, namely, the protoconsciousness, possesses sensitivity. Therefore, the protoconsciousness senses intuitively the structure, constituents, qualities, and so on, of the cells and tissues. Furthermore, the protoconsciousness even senses changes in the situation existing inside the cells and tissues.
This content sensed by the protoconsciousness, that is, the image that is thus reflected onto the protoconsciousness, is the “protoimage.” The idea that a protoimage is produced in the protoconsciousness can be compared to the phenomenon wherein a material object is reflected in a mirror, or in the way a material object is caught on film through exposure.
Protoconsciousness has perceptiveness, which is the ability to maintain the state of perception, in other words, continuing to keep the protoimage. Thus, perceptiveness might also be regarded as a kind of memory.
The various elements within a human body, such as cells, tissues, and organs, exist, function, and grow through performing inner and outer give and receive actions as individual truth beings and as connected beings. In the case of a cell, for example, give and receive action between various elements (such as nucleus and cytoplasm) within the cell is inner give and receive action, and give and receive action between the cell and other cells is outer give and receive action. In these give and receive actions, various relationships are established. The condition or framework allowing for such relationship is called the “form of relation.” All things, without exception, can exist only in accordance with this condition; therefore, the form of relation can also be called the “form of existence.” The form of existence is the framework that was established when all things came to exist.
The form of existence is reflected on the protoconsciousness, forming a certain image there; we call this image an “image of relation” or an “image of form.” Protoconsciousness thus has protoimage and image of relation (image of form), which together we call the “image in protoconsciousness.”
Formation of the Forms of Thought
As already explained, the content possessed by the subject of cognition (human being) includes material content (Hyungsang content) and mental content (Sungsang content). The material content is the same as the attributes of the object (things), and the mental content is the protoimage. The material content is related to the mental content, as its corresponding element. Here, a corresponding element refers to the partner element among the paired elements that are in the relationship of one-to-one. The relationship between a material object and its shadow is an example. When the material object moves, the shadow also moves, and when the material object stops, the shadow also stops. In this case, the material object is called the corresponding element to the shadow.
In the relationship between body and mind, when the body is healthy, the mind becomes healthy, and when the body is weak, the mind also becomes weak. Hence, the body is the corresponding element to the mind. Similarly, in the relationship of the material form (Hyungsang form) and the mental form (Sungsang form) of the subject of cognition, the former is the corresponding element to the latter. The material form is the form of existence of the object.
As already mentioned, the human body is the integration of the universe; therefore, the attributes of all things become directly the attributes of the human body, and the attributes of the human body are reflected on the protoconsciousness, forming protoimages, namely, the mental content. In the same way, the form of existence of all things is the same as the form of existence of the human body, which is itself reflected on the protoconsciousness, thus forming the mental form, namely, the image of relation. The mental form is the form of thought. That is, the root of the form of thought is the form of existence. Thus, the corresponding element of the form of thought is the form of existence.
The forms of relation (forms of existence) in cells and tissues are reflected on the protoconsciousness, forming the images of relation. The images of relation in the protoconsciousness are passed from the peripheral nerves to the lower nerve centers as bits of information and gather together at the upper center (cortex center). In this process, the images of relation are synthesized and arranged to shape the forms of thought at the cortex center. Forms of thought, therefore, come to exist as mental forms corresponding to the forms of existence in the external world.
When we engage in thinking, these forms of thought function as the framework which our thinking follows. That is, thinking is carried out according to the forms of thought. In other words, the forms of thought guide, restrict, or limit our thinking. Forms of thought are the same as categories, which are, in any philosophy, the most fundamental, general basic concepts.
Forms of Existence and Forms of Thought
Since the element corresponding to the form of thought is the form of existence, in order for us to understand the form of thought, we must first understand the form of existence. In order for things to exist, individual beings (or elements) should be related to each other, whereby the form of relation is the form of existence. From the Unification Thought perspective, there are ten basic forms of existence, as follows:
Existence and Force: The existence of every being is always accompanied by the operation of force. There is no force apart from existence, and no existence apart from force. This is because the Prime Force from God makes all things exist by exerting power on them.
Sungsang and Hyungsang: Every being consists of an inner, invisible, functional aspect and an outer, visible mass, structure, and shape.
Yang and Yin: Every being has the characteristics of yang and yin as attributes of Sungsang and Hyungsang. Yang and yin are at work both in space and in time. Beauty is manifested through the harmony of yang and yin.
Subject and Object: Every being exists through performing give and receive action between correlative elements within itself and between itself and another being in the relationship of subject and object.
Position and Settlement: Every being exists in a certain position. That is, an appropriate being is settled in each position.
Unchangeability and Changeability: Every being has both unchanging and changing aspects. This is because every created being embodies the unity between the identity-maintaining four position foundation (static four position foundation) and the developmental four position foundation (dynamic four position foundation).
Action and Effect: Whenever the correlative elements of subject and object in a being enter into give and receive action, an effect always appears. That is, through give and receive action those elements form a united being, or give rise to a new being (multiplied being).
Time and Space: Every being is a temporal and spatial being, existing in time and space. This is because to exist is to form a four position foundation (a foundation in space) and to engage in the Origin-Division-Union Action (an action in time).
Number and Principle: Every being is a mathematical being, and at the same time a law-governed being. In other words, in every being, numbers are always united with laws, or principles. 32
Finite and Infinite: Every being has the aspect of being finite while at same time possessing an aspect of being infinite: Every being is a momentary being and at the same time endures by carrying out circular movement.
These ten are the most basic forms of existence and are established on the basis of the four position foundation, give and receive action, and Origin-Division-Union Action as explained in the Divine Principle. These are the forms of existence of all things, which are the objects of cognition, and at the same time they are the forms of existence of the components of the physical body of the human being, who is the subject of cognition.
The mental forms corresponding to these forms of existence are the forms of thought. That is,
(1) existence and force,
(2) Sungsang and Hyungsang,
(3) yang and yin,
(4) subject and object,
(5) position and settlement,
(6) unchangeability and changeability,
(7) action and effect,
(8) time and space,
(9) number and principle, and
(10) finite and infinite
are, just as they are, the forms of thought. The forms of existence are material forms of relation, whereas the forms of thought (mental) are basic concepts, which are the forms of relationships among ideas.
Of course, there can be other forms of existence and forms of thought in addition to those mentioned above, which are the most basic in the Unification Thought perspective. It is not true that the forms of thought are, as Kant maintained, unrelated to existence; also, it is not at all the case that the forms of existence of the external world reflect, or give rise to, the forms of thought, as is stated in Marxism. Human beings, themselves, from the very beginning, are equipped with forms of thought, which correspond to the forms of existence appearing in the external world. For example, because human beings are themselves beings with temporal and spatial natures from the very beginning, they possess the forms of thought of time and space, and because they are themselves beings with subjectivity and objectivity, they possess the forms of thought of subject and object. Thus, human beings are endowed with forms of thought, which precisely correspond to the forms of existence.