Essentially, therefore, the thing in itself has just shown itself to be thingin itself not only in such a way that its properties are the positedness of an external reflection; on the contrary, those properties are its own determinations by virtue of which it relates in some determinate manner; it is not an indeterminate substrate located on the other side of its external concrete existence but is present in its properties rather as ground, that is to say, it is self identity in its positedness; but, at the same time, it is conditioned ground, that is to say, its positedness is equally reflection external to itself; it is reflected into itself and in itself only to the extent that it is external.