experience

At present, I'm struggling to write an essay on the ways in which moral and religous ideals shape our experience of the self and our experience of the world. Things will be going smoothly, the thoughts will be flowing, there is clear progression from one premise to the next, then all of a sudden I will be thrown into complete confusion. The current concern that has arrested my progress is that I cannot define what an experience is. They are these things that we have constantly but are continually elusive. We can describe what they taught us or how they felt when they happened, we can reflect on their affect onus. But when it comes to knowing the thing in itself, they slip through our fingers.

The Oxford English Dictionary lists the following definition:

experience, n. actual observation of or practical acquaintance with facts or events; knowledge or skill resulting from this. a; event that affects one, fact or process of being so affected.

Experience of the self and of the world relates directly to what we know (or think we know) about these two things. Perhaps we define our experiences by the knowledge we gain from them. If that is the case are we really any closer to pinning down what an experience is?

365-09 #44