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 ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
form <strong>of</strong> ―pr<strong>in</strong>ciples <strong>of</strong> synthesis‖ <strong>and</strong> presum<strong>in</strong>g that its a priori cognition <strong>of</strong> concepts be<br />
pure. 10 With respect to the systematic location <strong>of</strong> what Kant calls a ―doctr<strong>in</strong>e,‖ on the<br />
other h<strong>and</strong>, critique establishes if <strong>and</strong> how our cognitive powers can construct such a<br />
field <strong>of</strong> knowledge as well as the norms from which to judge its ―scientific‖ value. And<br />
conversely, unlike critique, which either has no value or its object exists only <strong>in</strong> general, a<br />
doctr<strong>in</strong>e has a ―particular doma<strong>in</strong> <strong>of</strong> objects‖ <strong>and</strong> depend<strong>in</strong>g on the nature <strong>of</strong> these (i.e.,<br />
empirical or rational) its value with regards to degree <strong>of</strong> certa<strong>in</strong>ty is established. 11<br />
Hav<strong>in</strong>g said all <strong>of</strong> this, ―critical system‖ may also refer to all three critiques <strong>and</strong> the<br />
different k<strong>in</strong>ds <strong>of</strong> metaphysical cognition or general pr<strong>in</strong>ciples grounded on them. In<br />
summary, while much can be said about the mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> what is be<strong>in</strong>g referred to <strong>in</strong> the<br />
above mentioned secondh<strong>and</strong> remarks, the po<strong>in</strong>t here is that their different systematic<br />
connotations po<strong>in</strong>t to the difficulty <strong>of</strong> ascerta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the place <strong>of</strong> the ―gap‖ <strong>in</strong> Kant‘s<br />
philosophy. S<strong>in</strong>ce the Op represents Kant‘s effort to solve it, underst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g the gap‘s<br />
systematic location is ultimately the key to grasp<strong>in</strong>g the reach <strong>of</strong> the problem itself <strong>and</strong><br />
that <strong>of</strong> the theoretical effects <strong>of</strong> a solution that is to be found <strong>in</strong> the text as such.<br />
That Kant at first thought <strong>of</strong> the ―gap‖ as located <strong>in</strong> the theoretical part <strong>of</strong> his<br />
philosophy is clear from the projected title <strong>of</strong> the Op, which was orig<strong>in</strong>ally conceived as a<br />
manuscript for future publication: Transition from the Metaphysical Pr<strong>in</strong>ciples <strong>of</strong> Natural<br />
Science to Empirical Physics. 12 Tak<strong>in</strong>g the title literally, it is possible to say that the<br />
10 KrV B28/A15.<br />
11 KU, Ak: 5:176. Pluhar, 15. For an account <strong>of</strong> the different k<strong>in</strong>ds <strong>of</strong> doctr<strong>in</strong>es <strong>of</strong> nature,<br />
for <strong>in</strong>stance, cf. Kant‘s ―Preface‖ <strong>in</strong> MAN (Ak: 4:467-79. Friedman, 183-193).<br />
12 ―Übergang von den Mataphysischen Anfangsgründe der Naturwissenschaft zur<br />
empirischen Physik.‖<br />
7