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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it perceives only its effects. In a Deleuzian moment, as if speak<strong>in</strong>g directly to the latter‘s<br />
concept <strong>of</strong> a ―dark precursor,‖ 72 Kant writes, ―<strong>The</strong> unconditional necessity, which we<br />
need so <strong>in</strong>dispensably as the ultimate susta<strong>in</strong>er <strong>of</strong> all th<strong>in</strong>gs, is for human reason the true<br />
abyss,‖ to which he adds, ―[h]ere everyth<strong>in</strong>g gives way beneath us, <strong>and</strong> the greatest<br />
perfection as well as the smallest, hovers without support before speculative reason, for<br />
which it would cost noth<strong>in</strong>g to let the one as much as the other disappear without the least<br />
obstacle.‖ 73<br />
iii. b. A Function <strong>of</strong> Cognitive Activity<br />
Once we abstract it from the KrV‘s discussion <strong>of</strong> the transcendental ideal <strong>and</strong>,<br />
to the extent to which this is possible, from the larger context <strong>of</strong> the function <strong>of</strong> the<br />
categories <strong>of</strong> modality, Setzung <strong>in</strong> the form <strong>of</strong> a noun is no longer the predom<strong>in</strong>ant<br />
manifestation <strong>of</strong> the concept <strong>in</strong> the text. What one f<strong>in</strong>ds is the use <strong>of</strong> the concept <strong>in</strong><br />
the verbal form <strong>of</strong> setzen. This <strong>in</strong>troduces a set <strong>of</strong> difficulties <strong>in</strong> attempt<strong>in</strong>g to provide<br />
a relatively consistent outl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong> the significance <strong>of</strong> the concept <strong>in</strong> Kant‘s thought <strong>in</strong><br />
general <strong>and</strong> the KrV <strong>in</strong> particular. On the one h<strong>and</strong>, the use <strong>of</strong> the verb is fairly<br />
common <strong>in</strong> the German language <strong>and</strong>, on the other h<strong>and</strong>, it forms part <strong>of</strong> composite<br />
words that are part <strong>of</strong> Kant‘s technical term<strong>in</strong>ology (e.g., zusammensetzen). In the first<br />
case, it means that one can th<strong>in</strong>k a use <strong>of</strong> the term significant, when it is merely the<br />
most useful <strong>and</strong> natural word to use <strong>and</strong> repeat <strong>in</strong> any given context. In the second<br />
72 Cf. Deleuze‘s Difference <strong>and</strong> Repetition, 119. <strong>The</strong> same moment <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>tersection is<br />
found when read<strong>in</strong>g Kant‘s ―How to Orient Oneself <strong>in</strong> Thought‖ together with Deleuze<br />
<strong>and</strong> Guattari‘s chapter on ―<strong>The</strong> Plane <strong>of</strong> Immanence‖ <strong>in</strong> What is Philosophy?<br />
73 KrV, A613/B641.<br />
51