Causation; Knowledge, Theory of; Philosophy, German; Reason
Before entering this region of discord and confusion, which the
conflict of the laws of pure reason (antinomy) produces, we shall
present the reader with some considerations, in explanation and
justification of the method we intend to follow in our treatment of
this subject. I term all transcendental ideas, in so far as they relate
to the absolute totality in the synthesis of phenomena, cosmical
conceptions; partly on account of this unconditioned totality, on which
the conception of the world-whole is based—a conception, which is
itself an idea—partly because they relate solely to the synthesis of
phenomena—the empirical synthesis; while, on the other hand, the
absolute totality in the synthesis of the conditions of all possible
things gives rise to an ideal of pure reason, which is quite distinct
from the cosmical conception, although it stands in relation with it.
Hence, as the paralogisms of pure reason laid the foundation for a
dialectical psychology, the antinomy of pure reason will present us
with the transcendental principles of a pretended pure (rational)
cosmology—not, however, to declare it valid and to appropriate it,
but—as the very term of a conflict of reason sufficiently indicates, to
present it as an idea which cannot be reconciled with phenomena and
experience.
Section I. System of Cosmological Ideas
That we may be able to enumerate with systematic precision these ideas
according to a principle, we must remark, in the first place, that it
is from the understanding alone that pure and transcendental
conceptions take their origin; that the reason does not properly give
birth to any conception, but only frees the conception of the
understanding from the unavoidable limitation of a possible experience,
and thus endeavours to raise it above the empirical, though it must
still be in connection with it. This happens from the fact that, for a
given conditioned, reason demands absolute totality on the side of the
conditions (to which the understanding submits all phenomena), and thus
makes of the category a transcendental idea. This it does that it may
be able to give absolute completeness to the empirical synthesis, by
continuing it to the unconditioned (which is not to be found in
experience, but only in the idea). Reason requires this according to
the principle: If the conditioned is given the whole of the conditions,
and consequently the absolutely unconditioned, is also given, whereby
alone the former was possible. First, then, the transcendental ideas
are properly nothing but categories elevated to the unconditioned; and
they may be arranged in a table according to the titles of the latter.
But, secondly, all the categories are not available for this purpose,
but only those in which the synthesis constitutes a series—of
conditions subordinated to, not co-ordinated with, each other. Absolute
totality is required of reason only in so far as concerns the ascending
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