That is necessary. That is unnecessary... Why can we categorize them? Everyday philosophy

Introduction: A question that begins with morning coffee

I stand in the kitchen in the morning. I flip the switch on the coffee maker. I do not doubt that this act is "necessary." But why is it necessary? To wake up? No, I am already awake. Because it is a habit? Then, is a habit necessary? Dependence on caffeine? Is that necessary, or is it an unnecessary attachment that should be overcome?

The questions multiply. And then I suddenly realize. To judge something as "necessary," one must know about that something. That coffee brings wakefulness, the effects of caffeine, the psychological impact of a morning routine. But there is a paradox here. To know it means that one has already experienced the coffee, which is to say, one has already "deemed it necessary."

Similarly, to discard something as "unnecessary," one must know that something. It is precisely because we know it that we can exclude it. But to know it means, that at least once, we made it an object of perception, which is to say, we granted it a certain kind of "necessity."

This circular structure lurks in every judgment of daily life.

Chapter 1: The circle of knowing and judging

Socrates preached the "knowledge of ignorance." It is a paradoxical wisdom of knowing that one does not know. However, if we push this further, a strange horizon opens up. Knowing that something is "unnecessary" presupposes an understanding of "how it is unnecessary." In other words, negative judgment is preceded by positive recognition.

We know a hammer is "necessary" in its difference from chopsticks or spoons. For the purpose of driving a nail, a hammer is effective, and chopsticks are ineffective. But this judgment presupposes that we already possess knowledge about both. Perception is the act of positioning an object in its difference from others. As Saussure clarified regarding language, meaning is generated only through difference.

The phoneme /p/ exists only in opposition to /b/. To deem one thing "necessary," it is required to exclude the other as "unnecessary." This is not just a matter of phonetics. The immune system needs to know "non-self" in order to recognize "self," and the reverse is also true. The value of a product in the market is determined only in comparison with other products.

Necessary and unnecessary are not two independent categories. They are the two poles of a relationship that mutually define each other.

Chapter 2: The three-layered structure of the criteria that divide necessary and unnecessary

So, what draws the line between necessary and unnecessary? On the surface, it is the relationship to a purpose. For the purpose of driving a nail, a hammer is necessary and chopsticks are unnecessary. But this is just postponing the question. Why does the purpose of "driving a nail" arise?

In the second layer, the mode of existence of the judging subject itself becomes the criterion. Oxygen is necessary for humans, but that derives from the mode of existence of being a "breathing organism." The distinction between necessary and unnecessary is rooted in "what" the judging subject is. For a stone, oxygen is neither necessary nor unnecessary. That is because stones do not breathe.

However, in the deepest third layer, the entire value system held by that subject becomes the criterion. Fundamental values such as "what is happiness" and "what is good" dictate countless necessary/unnecessary judgments. What is considered necessary in one culture is considered unnecessary in another. Knowledge that was once unnecessary suddenly becomes necessary in a new situation. Like epidemiological knowledge during a pandemic.

The dichotomy of necessary/unnecessary is actually a convenient cutting of a continuous spectrum. That cutting line is fluidly determined by the judging subject's mode of existence, temporal context, and position in the web of relationships.

Chapter 3: Unknown unknowns, or the freedom of chaos

However, a decisive realm emerges here. Regarding things we are completely ignorant of, there is a third realm that can be called neither necessary nor unnecessary. This is the "unknown unknowns."

An infant exists in an undifferentiated state with the world. They do not know what is necessary or what is unnecessary, or even that such a distinction exists. We might call this state "chaos." But at the same time, this is also a primordial freedom.

A state before judgment. A state of superposition where everything is possible and everything is impossible. In quantum mechanics, an electron before observation is "both here and there." The act of observation collapses the wave function and fixes the possibility into a single point.

Judgment in perception also has the same structure. An object before judgment is "both necessary and unnecessary." The act of judgment collapses this superposition and fixes the meaning.

A blank canvas contains the possibilities and impossibilities of every painting simultaneously.The moment the first brushstroke is applied, the possibilities begin to contract.The relationship between two people who have just met could become a friendship or a romance.The act of confession transforms this uncertainty into a decision.

A state of chaos is the greatest freedom, but also the greatest lack of freedom.The fact that all possibilities are open means there is no basis for choice. A lack of direction means being unable to move.

Chapter 4: The Observation Apparatus of Language

Here, a structurally decisive similarity emerges. It is the isomorphism between the observation of the physical world and the description of experience through language.

The measurement problem in quantum mechanics is as follows: to measure the position of an electron, one must strike it with a photon. However, that photon changes the electron's momentum. The "pre-measurement state" is, in principle, unknowable. The observation apparatus and the object of observation form a single system. The measurement result is a product of the interaction between the object and the apparatus, not the object itself.

Language functions in the same way. The moment you verbalize "sad," a vague emotion is fixed as "sadness." That word changes the nature of the emotion itself."Experience before verbalization" disappears the moment it is verbalized. The moment language touches something, it alters what was there before it was touched.

This is not a technical limitation. It is the fundamental structure of cognition.

Kant realized that the thing-in-itself (Ding an sich) cannot be an object of cognition.What we perceive are always "phenomena," that is, objects only through the framework of cognition.A pure object is inaccessible without passing through the filter of cognition.

It could be said that quantum mechanics experimentally confirmed Kantian philosophy. The "electron before observation" is unknowable.What we know are always "measurement results."

Nietzsche argued more radically:"There are no facts, only interpretations."All cognition already contains value judgments. The ideal of "pure observation" is an illusion.

Chapter 5: The Ubiquity of Intervention

This structure is ubiquitous in every domain.

In psychology, it is known as the Hawthorne effect. When people know they are being observed, they change their behavior.In counseling, being asked "How do you feel?" changes the way one feels.Self-observation, the act of introspection itself, transforms the mental state.

In sociology, there is the self-fulfilling prophecy.The rumor that "the bank will fail" actually triggers a bank run, making the failure a reality.Observation changes the object of observation.George Soros's theory of reflexivityshows thatthe perceptions of market participants create the market itself.

Cultural anthropologists face the paradox of fieldwork. The presence of the anthropologist transforms the culture being observed.The moment they study an "uncontacted tribe," they are no longer "uncontacted."The act of observation causes the "pre-observation state" to vanish.

In history, records are not neutral reflections. Describing history is an act of deciding post-facto "what was important." Whether one calls an event a "revolution" or a "rebellion" fundamentally changes its meaning.

Approach without intervention is impossible. This is not a limitation, but the very mode of existence in this world.

Chapter 6: The Violence of Judgment

The act of judgment contains an unavoidable violence.The act of dismissing something as "unnecessary" simultaneously summons that object to the horizon of cognition and places it on the chopping block of judgment.By doing so, it actually gives that object ontological weight.

Labeling someone as "a person who is X." This single phrase fixes the other person's possibilities into a single frame. The moment you think you have "understood," that understanding freezes the other person.To define is, in a sense, to kill.

However, at the same time, it is impossible to engage with the world without judgment.In complete chaos, nothing can be chosen and nothing can be done. Having criteria for judgment actually makes freedom possible. There is no freedom of thought without language. As Sartre says, freedom is choosing, and to choose, one needs criteria for judgment.

We are beings that oscillate between judgment and chaos. The ability to "suspend" a judgment once made. The flexibility to let go of a conviction even while holding it. The wisdom of living within provisionality.

Zen's 'non-reliance on words' addresses this very paradox. If verbalization kills experience, then do not use language.However, 'not using language' is also an attitude, that is, an intervention. Ultimately, it transcends the dichotomy of intervention and non-intervention. Living the contradiction itself is the path.

Chapter 7: Heisenberg and the Hermeneutic Circle

The uncertainty principle is not merely a technical limitation of measurement. The more accurately you measure position, the more uncertain momentum becomes. This is a fundamental principle of nature. Position and momentum cannot be determined simultaneously.

Language also has a structurally identical uncertainty. The meaning of individual words depends on the entire context. However, the meaning of the entire context depends on individual words.This is the hermeneutic circle.

The sentence 'He is cold.' Does 'cold' refer to physical temperature or personality? That depends on the context. However, to understand the context, one must assume the meaning of 'cold.' The part and the whole mutually define each other.

This structure is the same as the complementarity of position and momentum. When one is determined, the other becomes uncertain. Complete determination is, in principle, impossible.

This is not a limitation, but an essential mode of cognition. We are always inferring the whole from partial understanding and interpreting parts from hypotheses about the whole. Within this circular movement, meaning is gradually formed. It is an eternal, spiral movement that never concludes.

Chapter 8: Practical Implications

This structural recognition is not merely a theoretical game. It has concrete practical implications.

In science, it brings humility. Measured values are not reality itself. The choice of observation equipment defines the visible world. The experimental setup itself contains theoretical premises. Scientific 'facts' are products of specific modes of observation.

In language use, it brings caution. Not 'this is the truth,' but 'this is how it looks to me.' Knowing that verbalization fixes experience, one maintains the possibility of multiple descriptions. An attitude of respecting others' different verbalizations and different observations.

In relationships, it brings ethics. The danger of the moment you think you have 'understood' the other person. The consideration of keeping the other's possibilities open by not defining them. The flexibility to allow for change.

In daily life, it brings openness. What you thought was 'unnecessary' today might become 'necessary' tomorrow. What you believe is 'necessary' today might actually be an attachment. An attitude of holding judgments as provisional.

Final Chapter: Beyond the Question

Necessary and unnecessary. This seemingly simple dichotomy illuminates the deepest structure of cognition. We can only engage with the world by making judgments.However, judgment transforms the object being judged. Observation without intervention is impossible.

This is not despair. Rather, it is an awareness of the fundamental mode of existence. We are not observers standing outside the world. We are co-creators who, while interacting with the world from within it, are creating the world.

Turning on the coffee maker. Is this act necessary or unnecessary? The question does not disappear. But now, the way I face this question has changed. It is not determining the answer, but continuing to question that is the essence of living.

The boundary between necessary and unnecessary is not fixed. It is a line that is constantly being redrawn. And the act of drawing that line itself defines our existence.

The question that began with my morning coffee led us to the roots of perception. And now, we return to the coffee once more. But it is not the same coffee.The coffee after having gone through the question holds a different meaning.

This is what philosophy brings to everyday life.It is not a transformation of things, but a transformation of how we relate to things.

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