subject recognizes the existence of other subjects and becomes self-conscious. Now it doesn’t just think; it knows that it thinks. Self-consciousness is uncomfortable. The subject asks, “Why do I believe and feel as I do, instead of some other way? Why am I different from him? Is the difference good?” Ultimately, the subject attains a more comprehensive and profound perspective, the vantage-point of reason. The cycle starts over when the reasoning subject becomes self-conscious in the presence of some new alternative.

Each part of Entropy has a key word that appears in its first and last sentence. The essential word of Part One is “memory,” an operation of consciousness. The subject