1. Reading signs is an act of perception and all perception is creative, i.e. it is not simply the effects of external causes. The results of perception are never purely objective. But they cannot be purely subjective either, because that would be hallucination instead of perception. At this stage of our investigation into the system of signs used in the rongorongo texts it is quite too early to try to verify, define as 'true', anything at all. What should be done is instead to strive to ascertain what is plausible. From a state of complete ignorance our perceptions will gradually move us towards order, such is our nature. The problem is to demand not only meaning but to avoid imaginative ideas which are not supported by evidence. In science this is easily solved by repeated experiments with predicted outcomes which must come true if it can be called knowledge. For us the methods must be different. But the basic idea of verification - or for the moment making plausible - by repeated experiences is not only good but the only secure path ahead. |