All perceiving is a measurement! Technical measurement is an instrument-assisted extension and objectivization of perceptions. What is perceived/observed are features that we ascribe to the outer worl, like a distance. A distance can be measured, even if no such ´thing´ as distance exists. The world becomes, thus, a carrier of familiar features. Our perceptions, as well as our measurements are mirroring our cognitive ability. For what purpose are we possessing cognitive ability cannot be perceived, therefore it doesn´t exist for us. This explains Protragoras´ (480 - 410) warning - in his famous "Homomensura" - about the erroneous belief in a ´natural objectivity´. "The man is for himself the measure of all things (Homomensura), existent for that which exists (what they are for him, non-existent for what (for him) do not exist." In other words: not the things are dependent on man, as Protagoras is often incorrectly interpreted, but only: that perceptions and evaluations are incomprehensible without the perceiving subject. Only who, who is conscious in his participation in the perception processes "really" perceives and doesn´t consider his limited and self-centred view as true for the world. What the world really is, behind our perceived feature, remains unknown. We are able to know only how the world appears in our way of perception. Measurement is thus our relation to the world and its careful consideration cannot be overemphasized. We manage to cope with the world by the way of measurements. This reduction is, as a rule, a consideration: not only goals and opinions are considered; the consideration of the force necessary to build on the sensitive plane the basis of our actions and decisions, has to be taken into account, too. This means that the cognitive system is our balance for ´weighting the world´, which tells us how to preserve equilibrium with our surrounding, because this is, finally, what matters for living systems. If they wish to survive, they have to reach equilibrium with the surrounding world. That's important for the living system - must be important to him, want to exist in the world.
translated by Dr. George Galeczki (Cologne/Germany)