Actually, I do not begrudge your goal for pristine cognition, at all. It is no more, or less, foolish than my take on how economics has pretty much ruined humanity. I am just not a big fan of unemotional "Spock" logic...which he could not even live up to.And yes, I know that I'm in the minority here thinking that it is attainable (I don't have to be reminded). -Neo
In fact, if I can connect a few dots here...I can imagine a thesis that says: If we only had pristine cognition, we would realize how badly we are being screwed by free-market economics.
I just do not believe in concepts preceding human constructs. Physical objects like planets and such do precede life, as far as we know. If life evolves, it seems to follow that consciousness evolves with it and is not somehow magically placed into existence from some mystery source behind everything. If consciousness is an evolutionary artifact, then what comes from having it is an artifact as well, so then truth is a construct created by a particular kind of consciousness that has evolved here on this planet, in the circumstances that fostered its inception. I suppose that to my thinking, truth is just as good coming from this development as truth that somehow precedes the development. In fact, in my mind, it is better because it is the result of eons of thought about what is and is not true, rather than being "given" by some mystery source that remains unidentifiable. It gives credit to the human for playing a role in our own development, rather than being played like rat in a maze.
The same would be true for believing that we can achieve something like pure consciousness, or pristine cognition. If we wiped away all of the illusory walls that supposedly separate us, we might stand a chance of actually thinking sensibly about any given proposition. Of course, there is at least one really big problem. Sometimes there just is not a "right" answer....just the best answer, all things considered, which is not necessarily pristine, but is pragmatic or utilitarian in nature. And in such circumstances, "everybody wins" rarely, if ever, happens.
I don't know, Neo...this stuff has puzzled humans for as long as we have been able to contemplate such questions....and probably way, way further back than Plato or any of the other "fathers" of Western Philosophy. I suppose we are playing our part here, for better or worse.