A category is not a property of the world.
A category is an act of grouping performed by consciousness.
When consciousness says:
- this is a log
- this is also a log
- this is also a log
It performs an operation: different objects → one category
That is, a category is an operation of collapsing distinctions.
Category as a Framework
A category may be not only a class of similar objects, but also a model
or explanatory scheme within which what has been distinguished is assigned a place.
Categorization in this sense subordinates what has been distinguished to a framework:
the framework begins to determine how it is to be considered. Details within
the framework can be refined, but the original distinction no longer has the power
to change the framework itself.
The participation of what has been distinguished in a scheme is not, by itself,
such categorization. When a distinction is held, it is preserved as an independent
determination: it can enter into relations with others and demand
a restructuring of the scheme. Independence here means the possibility
of changing the framework, not the absence of connections with other distinctions.
What Is Actually the Case
There is no absolute identity in reality. Any two objects differ in:
- microstructure
- position in space
- moment in time
- state of matter
Two logs differ in:
- fibers
- moisture
- microcracks
- mass
- the history of the tree’s growth
Strictly speaking, therefore: two logs are not identical. They are similar enough for consciousness to ignore their differences.
What Consciousness Does
Consciousness performs a fundamental operation: it ignores differences and fixes similarities.
This is what creates a category. The scheme is: reality -> distinction -> selection of a feature -> ignoring differences -> category
For example: log1, log2, log3. Consciousness says: “these are all wooden cylinders” → the category of log.
