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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<strong>The</strong> structure <strong>in</strong> the schematic <strong>of</strong> this passage is essentially dualistic <strong>in</strong> that to be self-<br />
conscious is described as the ―I‖ be<strong>in</strong>g for itself a th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g subject <strong>and</strong> the ―I‖ be<strong>in</strong>g for<br />
itself an Object 95 <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>tuition. This dist<strong>in</strong>ction between the th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> Object <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong>tuition is the most radical structure that is found throughout the doctr<strong>in</strong>e, <strong>and</strong> it is<br />
rem<strong>in</strong>iscent <strong>of</strong> Kant‘s earlier works. What follows after the above schematic is a<br />
breakdown <strong>of</strong> the unity <strong>of</strong> these aspects <strong>in</strong>to a multiplicity <strong>of</strong> elements, logical orders,<br />
<strong>and</strong> processes, the primacy <strong>of</strong> which appear to be for the cognition <strong>of</strong> the ―I‖—a k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>of</strong><br />
self-knowledge. Indeed, this multiplicity <strong>in</strong>troduces conceptual resources from which to<br />
beg<strong>in</strong> to peel <strong>of</strong>f the layers, as it were, <strong>of</strong> the duality presented <strong>in</strong> the schema. <strong>The</strong><br />
doctr<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong> self-<strong>posit<strong>in</strong>g</strong>, <strong>in</strong> fact, embodies this peel<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong>f the layers immanent to what<br />
otherwise appears as a simple duality <strong>in</strong> the forms <strong>of</strong> self-consciousness. <strong>The</strong> last<br />
sentence <strong>in</strong> particular is representative <strong>of</strong> a characteristic unfold<strong>in</strong>g movement <strong>of</strong> the<br />
doctr<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong> self-<strong>posit<strong>in</strong>g</strong>, which goes from the most <strong>in</strong>determ<strong>in</strong>ate to the most determ<strong>in</strong>ate<br />
or concrete. Importantly, this movement is methodologically the <strong>in</strong>verse <strong>of</strong> the one<br />
presented <strong>in</strong> the KrV, which starts from the most concrete—be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> space <strong>and</strong> time—<strong>and</strong><br />
ends with the most <strong>in</strong>determ<strong>in</strong>ate—the ―I th<strong>in</strong>k.‖ This early passage is a good<br />
Das Selbstbewustseyn der Anschauung und des Denkens zusammen vere<strong>in</strong>igt <strong>in</strong><br />
e<strong>in</strong>er Vorstellung ist das Erkentnis und der Imperativ dem der Verst<strong>and</strong> sich selbst<br />
unterwirft (nosce te ipsum) ist das Pr<strong>in</strong>cip se<strong>in</strong> Subject als Object der Anschauung zu<br />
e<strong>in</strong>em Begriffe zu machen oder jenes diesem unterzuordnen.<br />
Das denkbare (cogitabile) geht vor dem Spührbaren (apprehensibile)[,] der<br />
Begriff als Pr<strong>in</strong>cip vor der Warnehmung[,] die Form vor dem Materialen der Existenz im<br />
Raum u. der Zeit vorher.<br />
95 In order to note the dist<strong>in</strong>ction between Object from Gegenst<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> this dissertation,<br />
the former term will be translated as ―Object‖ (i.e., by capitaliz<strong>in</strong>g the first letter <strong>of</strong> the<br />
word).<br />
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