The thing and its relations

a theory of the constitution of the physical world

pp. 103-128

in: Richard Cobb-Stevens, James and Husserl, Berlin, Springer, 1974

Abstract

One of the basic characteristics of the stream of consciousness is its constant change. "The rush of our thought forward through its fringes is the everlasting peculiarity of life. We realize this life as… something in transition …" ¹ As a result of the cumulative effect of past experiences, the content of each new perception necessarily differs from that of the preceding one. This is why we often experience frustration in attempting to recapture earlier feelings with regard to friends, places and aesthetic experiences. We feel things differently according to our varying moods, our age in life, our states of alertness, boredom or fatigue.