KANT'S CRITIQUE OF TELEOLOGY IN BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATION

Introduction 61
Clarke correspondence can contribute to our understanding of the
problems discussed by Kant in the antinomies chapter.
* * * * *
It is well known that Kant proclaimed himself a follower of
Newton not only in his earliest writings but also later in the
Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science. Thus it may come as
a surprise that he is interpreted here as rejecting Newton's position
along with that of Leibniz. But the paradox disappears as soon as we
remember that the antinomies deal not with physics but with
rational cosmology, i.e. with philosophy. The arguments presented
in the antinomies chapter are philosophical not physical. It was
quite possible for Kant to accept Newtonian physics without accepting
all the postulates of Newton's metaphysics; in particular it was
not necessary to subscribe to the methodology grafted on to his
physics. 11 In fact Kant realized with a clarity that no one before him
had achieved, that Newton's physics needed to be rescued from
Newton's philosophy, i.e. that Newton's own metaphysics was
incompatible with a mathematical-experimental science of nature.
Kant undertook the task of providing philosophical foundations for
Newtonian physics that were independent of Newton's metaphysics
but at the same time did not appeal to Leibnizian metaphysics — at
least not in all respects.
The result of this circumstance is a kind of asymmetry in the
structure of the arguments in the antinomies chapter. The real
intellectual opponent in the debate is Leibniz; it is the basically
Leibnizian antithesis position that is in fact the object of Kant's
attack. The Newtonian thesis position is not really even taken seriously;
in any case the two positions are not at all treated as equals.
For instance, Kant refers later to the thesis position of the Third
Antinomy as "absolutely" (schlechterdings) false; the antithesis,
too, is of course considered false but "not absolutely" so, rather it is
11 Cf. Mittelstraß, "Galilean Revolution"; Freudenthal, Atom, chap. 3. Newton's
metaphysics were unscientific in the sense that he adduces a direct intervention of
God to explain the difference between theoretical prediction and empirical
observation. God intervenes in the world to prevent the solar system from
winding down.