The Other
When you know a person, all you can have is a representation of them in mind. Their actions and words are measured against your own experiences and biases. You cannot know what they think, for they cannot know if their words accurately portray what they think. In the same way, you cannot know all of your self, since you cannot see how you portray yourself, especially not in the same way another person sees you.
So then any act towards someone else will come from your perception of them, and of yourself, which gives birth to your intent. This becomes problematic because there is no external reference point to check against and it then becomes easy to assume your reference point of self-perception as objective and take it for granted. An automatic self-reference allows for a much higher, or lower, view of yourself and your intent than your actions should allow you to have. Of course, any response that does not fit with one of these self-formed illusions will be ignored, or cause a painful dissonance.
While anyone is limited to their side of the phenomenalistic veil, it is more accurate to act with this uncertainty than to act with any certainty and to be mindful that any response is shadowed by the other’s veil as well.
