1. The so-called _Quantity_ of judgments springs from the nature of
concepts as such. It thus has its ground in the reason alone, and has
absolutely no direct connection with the understanding and with knowledge
of perception. It is indeed, as is explained at length in the first book,
essential to concepts, as such, that they should have an extent, a sphere,
and the wider, less determined concept includes the narrower and more
determined. The latter can therefore be separated from the former, and
this may happen in two ways,—either the narrower concept may be indicated
as an indefinite part of the wider concept in general, or it may be
defined and completely separated by means of the addition of a special
name. The judgment which carries out this operation is in the first case
called a particular, and in the second case an universal judgment. For
example, one and the same part of the sphere of the concept tree may be
isolated through a particular and through an universal judgment,
thus—“Some trees bear gall-nuts,” or “All oaks bear gall-nuts.” One sees
that the difference of the two operations is very slight; indeed, that the
possibility of it depends upon the richness of the language. Nevertheless,
Kant has explained this difference as disclosing two fundamentally
different actions, functions, categories of the pure understanding which
determines experience _a priori_ through them.
Finally, a concept may also be used in order to arrive by means of it at a
definite particular idea of perception, from which, as well as from many
others, this concept itself is drawn; this happens in the singular
judgment. Such a judgment merely indicates the boundary-line between
abstract knowledge and knowledge of perception, and passes directly to the
latter, “This tree here bears gall-nuts.” Kant has made of this also a
special category.
After all that has been said there is no need of further polemic here.