Besides depth, length and breadth, there is an additional dimension to every concept, its “height”. This is the fact that a concept may be used as a “building block” to understand higher and higher concepts. For example, the understanding of addition leads to subtraction which leads to multiplication and division etc. However, the height of a subject is commensurate to its depth. The deeper the concept, the higher it can go. We see that the length, width, and height of a concept are all dependent on its depth.
Now, the above illustration is not a perfect analogy, for we must understand a further point in regard to the comparison between a river, and the comprehension of a concept. This is the source of the concept. This source determines its strength and depth. The spring is the source of the river. From the spring, drops of water trickle forth to form the river. The true depth of the river is this trickle of water which flows from the spring. The pressure and constancy of the water flowing from the spring will determine the strength of the river, thus affecting its length and breadth.
Likewise, the actual depth of a concept is its original source. But what is this source? To understand this we must understand the intellectual faculties. What are they and how do they function?
