The Doctrine of Self-positing and Receptivity in Kant's Late ...
The Doctrine of Self-positing and Receptivity in Kant's Late ...
The Doctrine of Self-positing and Receptivity in Kant's Late ...
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subject. An Object, on the other h<strong>and</strong>, is the result <strong>of</strong> the unity <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>tuition under a<br />
concept <strong>of</strong> it; as such it is <strong>in</strong> a determ<strong>in</strong>ate relation to the subject under the unity <strong>of</strong><br />
apperception <strong>and</strong> the categories. He does not, however, address to what extent an Object<br />
can be one <strong>of</strong> thought only, which, as <strong>in</strong>dicated earlier, is also possible, or if there is any<br />
unique characteristic to Kant‘s frequent characterization <strong>of</strong> an Object as be<strong>in</strong>g überhaupt.<br />
Allison dist<strong>in</strong>guishes between Object as go<strong>in</strong>g ―together with a judgmental or logical<br />
conception <strong>of</strong> an object‖ <strong>and</strong> Gegenst<strong>and</strong> goes with the ‖objective reality that is<br />
connected with a ‗real‘ sense <strong>of</strong> object.‖ 175 Duque‘s Spanish translation <strong>of</strong> the Op makes<br />
a po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>of</strong> dist<strong>in</strong>guish<strong>in</strong>g both terms throughout, under the simple editorial premise that it<br />
gives a better vision <strong>of</strong> the whole <strong>of</strong> the translated term<strong>in</strong>ology. 176 In fact, most <strong>of</strong> the<br />
time <strong>in</strong> the fascicles <strong>of</strong> Op under consideration here, Kant appears to be consistently<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g a differential use <strong>of</strong> these terms, even if the dist<strong>in</strong>guish<strong>in</strong>g elements are subtle<br />
<strong>and</strong> they don‘t necessarily follow Caygill‘s account.<br />
<strong>The</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g passages from the Op, which are also representative <strong>of</strong> the first<br />
level <strong>of</strong> the structure <strong>of</strong> the doctr<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong> self-<strong>posit<strong>in</strong>g</strong>, support a dist<strong>in</strong>ction between the<br />
two senses <strong>of</strong> ―object;‖ Kant writes,<br />
<strong>The</strong> consciousness <strong>of</strong> myself is a logical act <strong>of</strong> identity, that is: <strong>of</strong> the<br />
[identity] <strong>of</strong> apperception, through which the subject makes itself <strong>in</strong>to an<br />
Object: a concept that is posited simply <strong>in</strong> correspondence with a certa<strong>in</strong><br />
175 Makreel, R. Imag<strong>in</strong>ation <strong>and</strong> Interpretation <strong>in</strong> Kant: <strong>The</strong> Hermeneutical Import <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Critique <strong>of</strong> Pure Reason. Chicago, University <strong>of</strong> Chicago Press, 1990, 40. Cf. Allison, H.<br />
<strong>Kant's</strong> Transcendental Idealism: An Interpretation <strong>and</strong> Defense. New Haven, Yale<br />
University Press, 1983, 135.<br />
176 Duque, F. ―Introducción,‖ <strong>in</strong> Trancisión de los pr<strong>in</strong>cipios metafísicos de la ciencia<br />
natural a la física (Opus postumum). ed. <strong>and</strong> trans. Felix Pajuelo Duque. Madrid,<br />
Anthropos, 1991, 23.<br />
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