Historical background to Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason"

1. Historical Background PHIL 415A The Philosophy of Immanuel Kant Lecture 02 1/8/2010 1 djb

2. Today’s Plan Kant, Rationalism, and Empiricism 1/8/2010 2 djb

3. Kant, Rationalism, and Empiricism 1/8/2010 djb 3

4. Kant as synthesizer 1/8/2010 djb 4

5. Kant as synthesizer Kant is often introduced as someone who synthesized rationalism and empiricism. Q: What does this mean? Q: Who were the rationalists? Q: What did they stand for? Q: Who were the empiricists? Q: What did they stand for? 1/8/2010 djb 5

6. The Rationalists Descartes He thought that there were many purely thinking “substances”, and one extended substance that made up the entire world. Spinoza Held that there is only one substance, which is both extended and thinking, and may be called “God” or “Nature”. Leibniz Thought that there exist infinitely many nonextended substances called “monads” and that extension is merely an appearance. 1/8/2010 djb 6

7. The Rationalists Upshot: Even though there were major disagreements among the rationalists, the all believed that humans possess some ideas that are not derived from any experience. Contrast: Whereas, the empiricists held that all our ideas must be derived from experience. Consequence: By calling Kant a synthesizer, we cannot mean that he simply adopted the central views of both the rationalists and the empiricists. 1/8/2010 djb 7

8. The Empiricists Locke He thought that matter exists, and we can know that it does. Berkeley Didn’t think that matter exists. Hume Thought that we can’t know whether matter exists or not, but that can’t help but believing that it does. 1/8/2010 djb 8

9. Upshot: By calling Kant a synthesizer, we mean that he took certain doctrines of the rationalists and certain doctrines of the empiricists, put them together, then radically transformed them so as to give them a whole new meaning. Q: Which doctrines? Q: How did he transform them? 1/8/2010 djb 9

10. Kant and the rationalists Key rationalist doctrine: Humans can have knowledge of a nonempirical reality; a realm of things that straightforwardly exists, but which cannot be percieved by the senses. Kantian response: Kant rejects this claim. Main destructive aim of CPR: To show that there can be no human knowledge of a nonempirical reality. Similarity, between K and the Rs: Although he denies that we can have knowledge of any nonempirical reality, unlike Hume, he does think that its existence is a legitimate topic of human concern. 1/8/2010 djb 10

11. Kant and the empiricists Fundamental principle of empiricism: All our ideas must come from experience. Reaction: Kant does not except this principle. Reason: He thinks that the principle leads to scepticism; to the impossibility, not only of rationalist metaphysics, but also to that of scientific and everyday “commonsense” knowledge. Main constructive aim of CPR: To uphold the possibility of scientific and commonsense knowledge against Hume’s sceptical empiricism. 1/8/2010 djb 11