1093. What makes the "living being" an "individual" is its identity as a centre in a "perspective", the latter in turn meaning the placing of "what is sensed" in relation to the centre of the range of sensory perception. Since no being can be the centre of another being's range of sensory perception, things, as previously mentioned, cannot possibly have exactly the same relationship to us as centres of sensory perception as they have to the centre that our "neighbour" constitutes in the range of sensory perception. And it is this difference in the placing of things in relation to a centre that determines the eternal "individuality" of the "living being". And this brings us to the most significant phenomenon in the entire appearance of the "living being". Its "identity" as "individuality" is therefore the core of the entire structure of the being's fate, which in turn means is the foundation for the being's experience of its "neighbour" and thereby of the Godhead, and thus alone determines how the relationship between this "neighbour" and itself will be manifested. The being's "individual" sensory experience or view thus alone determines the being's "relationship" to its "neighbour", or to this or that thing; it determines whether the phenomena in its surroundings will be "hostility", "war", "mutilation", "death" or "ruin", or whether they will be "friendship", "affection", "love", "caressing" and "blessing". Finding the basis or cause of "individuality" is thus the same as finding the root of all "evil" as well as the root of all "good". Complete knowledge of the cause of "individuality" is to the highest degree the "philosophers' stone". It shows the one-hundred-per-cent foolishness of all manifestation of "anger", "brutality", "violence", revenge" and "persecution", and turns the words of Jesus into scientific truth, where he says of his executioners, who are actually all those that manifest one form or other of "inhumanity" or "unkindness", that "they know not what they do".
      Since this knowledge is thus of extraordinary, crucial significance for the individual's exercise of will, and since this individual could not possibly create a perfect fate for itself without this knowledge, and since this knowledge is therefore the absolute "one thing needful" for the terrestrial human being, we will here and in a subsequent symbol clarify and illustrate the specific principle or analysis of this cause.