2.10 Archphenomena — the Spiritually Ultimate
There are states of affairs in philosophy that are so fundamental that they cannot be derived from anything still more fundamental. One can only recognize them — or deny them. They cannot be proven, because every proof already presupposes them.
Such states of affairs are called archphenomena. For the human mind they are ultimate: there is no getting behind them. They cannot be explained, because there is nothing simpler to which they could be traced back. They can only be grasped through insight.
An example: that there is being — that anything exists at all, rather than nothing — is such a archphenomenon. It cannot be proven, for every proof presupposes beings. But one can acknowledge it by simply seeing it.
Another example: that there is truth. Whoever denies it is asserting something true — and so confirms the very thing he wanted to deny. Truth is an archphenomenon.
The dignity of the human being, too — as will become apparent in the coming chapters — bears the marks of such an archphenomenon. One can recognize it or deny it, but one cannot derive it from anything else. It is something spiritually ultimate.