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The Doctrine of Self-positing and Receptivity in Kant's Late ...

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schemas that present consciousness with what would have otherwise rema<strong>in</strong>ed ―noth<strong>in</strong>g‖<br />

to it. And time as the form <strong>of</strong> all that is given becomes the form <strong>of</strong> the determ<strong>in</strong>able – the<br />

form <strong>of</strong> the relations among all that can be synthesized <strong>in</strong>to a predicate – enabl<strong>in</strong>g thus<br />

the metaphysical significance <strong>of</strong> synthetic a priori propositions. While the form,<br />

function, <strong>and</strong> thus determ<strong>in</strong>ation <strong>of</strong> thought does not change, the need to th<strong>in</strong>k categories<br />

<strong>in</strong> light <strong>of</strong> the s<strong>in</strong>gular nature <strong>of</strong> the form <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>tuition, <strong>in</strong>troduces limits to the doma<strong>in</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />

the positivity out <strong>of</strong> which objectivity can be established.<br />

<strong>The</strong>refore, as a whole, the ongo<strong>in</strong>g problem with the concept‘s very significance<br />

has been centered <strong>in</strong> the ability to establish a legitimate account <strong>of</strong> the ―synthesis‖<br />

between the ―material‖ <strong>and</strong> ―formal‖ aspects <strong>of</strong> any account <strong>of</strong> possibility (<strong>of</strong> a th<strong>in</strong>g or<br />

object) that <strong>in</strong>tends to go beyond mere analytical approaches. <strong>The</strong> subjectivist move <strong>in</strong><br />

Kant‘s KrV presents an <strong>in</strong>ternalization <strong>of</strong> the problematic <strong>of</strong> what it means to posit<br />

someth<strong>in</strong>g, that is to say, to position someth<strong>in</strong>g. From the restrictions <strong>of</strong> the conditions<br />

for the possibility <strong>of</strong> the subject‘s experience, the question with which one is confronted<br />

is what cognitive resources, functions, <strong>and</strong> acts are necessary for the possibility <strong>of</strong> an<br />

object whose representation must <strong>and</strong> can conta<strong>in</strong> a legitimate claim to actuality. This is<br />

an actuality that is necessarily grounded as to its possibility <strong>in</strong> a subject, but for which<br />

this ground is not sufficient. A synthesis <strong>of</strong> the given must take place for the position <strong>of</strong><br />

any object. <strong>The</strong> KrV‘s project to establish this dabile, exhibits the concept <strong>of</strong> setzen as<br />

designat<strong>in</strong>g precisely that acts <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the constitution <strong>of</strong> the objectivity <strong>of</strong> a<br />

representation – by the acts <strong>of</strong> self-affection <strong>of</strong> the m<strong>in</strong>d. Ultimately, after the KrV, one is<br />

left with a multiplicity <strong>of</strong> doma<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> which the ontological weight embedded <strong>in</strong> such a<br />

verb is delimited by the immanent configuration <strong>of</strong> doma<strong>in</strong>s that enable, exhibit, or<br />

66

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