Causation; Knowledge, Theory of; Philosophy, German; Reason
3. All relations of thought in judgements are those (a) of the
predicate to the subject; (b) of the principle to its consequence; (c)
of the divided cognition and all the members of the division to each
other. In the first of these three classes, we consider only two
conceptions; in the second, two judgements; in the third, several
judgements in relation to each other. The hypothetical proposition, “If
perfect justice exists, the obstinately wicked are punished,” contains
properly the relation to each other of two propositions, namely,
“Perfect justice exists,” and “The obstinately wicked are punished.”
Whether these propositions are in themselves true is a question not
here decided. Nothing is cogitated by means of this judgement except a
certain consequence. Finally, the disjunctive judgement contains a
relation of two or more propositions to each other—a relation not of
consequence, but of logical opposition, in so far as the sphere of the
one proposition excludes that of the other. But it contains at the same
time a relation of community, in so far as all the propositions taken
together fill up the sphere of the cognition. The disjunctive judgement
contains, therefore, the relation of the parts of the whole sphere of a
cognition, since the sphere of each part is a complemental part of the
sphere of the other, each contributing to form the sum total of the
divided cognition. Take, for example, the proposition, “The world
exists either through blind chance, or through internal necessity, or
through an external cause.” Each of these propositions embraces a part
of the sphere of our possible cognition as to the existence of a world;
all of them taken together, the whole sphere. To take the cognition out
of one of these spheres, is equivalent to placing it in one of the
others; and, on the other hand, to place it in one sphere is equivalent
to taking it out of the rest. There is, therefore, in a disjunctive
judgement a certain community of cognitions, which consists in this,
that they mutually exclude each other, yet thereby determine, as a
whole, the true cognition, inasmuch as, taken together, they make up
the complete content of a particular given cognition. And this is all
that I find necessary, for the sake of what follows, to remark in this
place.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account