Kant's Prolegomena to Any Future MetaphysicsKant, Immanuel
PhilosophyPhilosophy
Kant's Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics
Kant, Immanuel
Knowledge, Theory of -- Early works to 1800; Metaphysics -- Early works to 1800
§ 25. Anent the relation of appearances merely with a view to their
existence, the determination is not mathematical but dynamical, and
can never be objectively valid, consequently never fit for experience,
if it does not come under a priori principles by which the cognition
of experience relative to appearances becomes even possible. Hence
appearances must be subsumed under the concept of Substance, which is
the foundation of all determination of existence, as a concept of the
thing itself; or secondly—so far as, a succession is found among
phenomena, that is, an event—under the concept of an Effect with
reference to Cause; or lastly—so far as coexistence is to be known
objectively, that is, by a judgment of experience—under the concept
of Community (action and reaction).{18} Thus a priori principles form
the basis of objectively valid, though empirical judgments, that is,
of the possibility of experience so far as it must connect objects as
existing in nature. These principles are the proper laws of nature,
which may be termed dynamical.
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{18} [Kant uses here the equivocal term Wechselwirkung.—Ed.]
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Finally the cognition of the agreement and connexion not only of
appearances among themselves in experience, but of their relation to
experience in general, belongs to the judgments of experience. This
relation contains either their agreement with the formal conditions,
which the understanding cognises, or their coherence with the
materials of the senses and of perception, or combines both into one
concept. Consequently it contains Possibility, Actuality, and
Necessity according to universal laws of nature; and this constitutes
the physical doctrine of method, or the distinction of truth and of
hypotheses, and the bounds of the certainty of the latter.
§ 26. The third table of Principles drawn from the nature of the
understanding itself after the critical method, shows an inherent
perfection, which raises it far above every other table which has
hitherto though in vain been tried or may yet be tried by analysing
the objects themselves dogmatically. It exhibits all synthetical a
priori principles completely and according to one principle, viz., the
faculty of judging in general, constituting the essence of experience
as regards the understanding, so that we can be certain that there are
no more such principles, a satisfaction such as can never be attained
by the dogmatical method. Yet is this not all: there is a still
greater merit in it.
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