The transcendental object and the “problem of affection”. Remarks on some difficulties of Kant’s theory of empirical cognition

Article Sidebar

PDF
Published: Nov 26, 2013
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.11.2007.268

Main Article Content

Anna Tomaszewska

Abstract

The paper presents one of the sources of the incoherence objection to Kant’s transcendental idealism, i.e. the problem of “affection” between the “transcendental ground” and mental representations. It is divided into two sections: in the first the historical context of the problem is sketched; in the second two contemporary solutions to the problem are suggested. The latter include N. Rescher’s “conceptual idealist” interpretation, which postulates a logical (rational) relation between representational content and its “ground”, and A. Brook’s cognitivist explanation, which appeals to a materialist hypothesis that makes use of a kind of correlation between the mental and the physical. The conclusion grants both stances considerable plausibility, admitting that, as often is the case, Kant’s way of posing questions here too leads to contradictory answers. It seems that the options suggested cannot be reconciled: one has to choose between the presence of metaphysics in Kant’s critical philosophy or the naturalization of transcendental philosophy. This state of affairs reflects the history of Kant’s interpretations.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Tomaszewska, Anna. 2013. “The Transcendental Object and the ‘problem of affection’. Remarks on Some Difficulties of Kant’s Theory of Empirical Cognition”. Diametros, no. 11 (November):61-82. https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.11.2007.268.
Issue
No. 11 (2007)
Section
Articles

By submitting his/her work to the Editorial Board, the author accepts, upon having his/her text recommended for publication, that Diametros applies the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license to the works we publish. Under this license, authors agree to make articles legally available for reuse, without permission or fees. Anyone may read, download, copy, print, distribute or reuse these articles without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author, as long as the author and original source are properly cited. The author holds the copyright without any other restrictions. Full information about CC-BY: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

Author Biography

Anna Tomaszewska

Anna Tomaszewska (ur. 1982) jest doktorantką Instytutu Filozofii UJ. Ukończyła filozofię w ramach MISH UJ. Publikowała w Principiach. Zainteresowania: filozofia transcendentalna, idealizm niemiecki, wybrane zagadnienia z filozofii umysłu.
Share |
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

Adickes [1978] – E. Adickes (ed.), Kants Opus postumum, Topos Vg., Vaduz 1978.

Allison [1982] – H.E. Allison, Kant’s Transcendental Idealism. An Interpretation and Defense, Yale University Press, New Haven and London 1982.

Allison [2004] – H.E. Allison, Kant’s Transcendental Idealism. An Interpretation and Defense, revised edition, Yale University Press, New Haven and London 2004.

Beck [1972] – L.W. Beck, Proceedings of the Third International Kant Congress, D. Reidel Publishing Co., Dordrecht 1972.

Brook [1994] – A. Brook, Kant and the Mind, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1994.

Byrne [2004] – A. Byrne, Perception and Conceptual Content, in: E. Sosa, M. Steup (ed.), Contemporary Debates in Epistemology, Blackwell, Oxford 2004.

Dretske [1995] – F. Dretske, Naturalizing the Mind, MIT, Cambridge MA 1995.

Hanna [2005] – R. Hanna, Kant and Nonconceptual Content, “European Journal of Philosophy” (13:2) 2005.

Kant [2003] – I. Kant, Encyklopedia filozoficzna, trans. by A. Banaszkiewicz, Aureus, Kraków 2003.

Kant [1998] – I. Kant, Kritik der reinen Vernunft, Felix Meiner Vg., Hamburg 1998.

Kant [1929] – I. Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, trans. by N. Kemp-Smith, St. Martin’s Press, New York 1929.

McDowell [1994] – J.H. McDowell, Mind and World, Harvard University Press, London- MA 1994.

Miles [2006] – M. Miles, Kant’s “Copernican Revolution”: Toward Rehabilitation of a Concept and Provision of a Framework for the Interpretation of the Critique of Pure Reason, “Kant- Studien” 97. Jg., H. 1 (2006).

Piłat [2006] – R. Piłat, Doświadczenie i pojęcie, IFiS PAN, Warszawa 2006.

Prauss [1974] – G. Prauss, Kant und das Problem der Dinge an sich, Bouvier, Bonn 1974.

Rescher [1972] – N. Rescher, Noumenal Causality, in: Beck [1972].

Rescher [1981] – N. Rescher, On the Status of “Things in Themselves” in Kant, “Synthese” (47) 1981.

Siemek [1977] – M.J. Siemek, Idea transcendentalizmu u Fichtego i Kanta. Studium z dziejów filozoficznej problematyki wiedzy, PWN, Warszawa 1977.

Strawson [1966] – P.F. Strawson, The Bounds of Sense. An Essay in Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason”, Methuen, London 1966.

Wayne [forthcoming] – M. Wayne, From Kant to Fichte, in: The Cambridge Companion to Fichte, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (forthcoming).