ABSTRACT
In the preceding chapter, I briefly described the mental process which I called reflective consciousness, and what I conceive to be the relation between this conscious, reflective activity and the unconscious processes on which it depends. I concluded by suggesting that current studies of pattern recognition and pattern formation are the most likely sources of further enlightenment on a process which I regard as essentially aesthetic. I agree with Bateson that we need to understand this aesthetic process, or at least to make explicit our assumptions about it before we attempt to develop a theory of action.11 am glad that we should have been given a further opportunity to explore this.
