Аннотация: I wrote for "New Work on Kant" ( July 2-3, 2025, at the University of Stuttgart).
Abstract
This essay aims to explore Immanuel Kant"s Critique of Pure Reason, with a focus on theoretical reason, epistemology, and metaphysics, as well as the interplay between sensibility and understanding as the foundation of cognition. The study examines how Kant accounts for the possibility of a priori knowledge through the synthesis of these faculties, highlighting the importance of his transcendental idealism for philosophical inquiry. Additionally, the essay investigates how Kantian concepts of sensibility and reason resonate within his philosophy of history, thereby enriching the understanding of their cognitive roles.
Research Method:
Analytical Approach: A thorough analysis of the core concepts in the Critique of Pure Reason - namely sensibility, understanding, categories, and a priori forms - emphasizing their contributions to the formation of a priori knowledge.
Transcendental Interpretation: An exploration of transcendental idealism as a methodology for delineating the limits of cognition and its relationship to a teleological perspective on historical progress.
Novelty of the Research:
Parallels in Sensibility: The research establishes connections between sensibility as the basis of cognition in the Critique of Pure Reason and "pathological"/moral feelings as catalysts for historical progress, thereby broadening traditional interpretations of Kant"s philosophy.
Reinterpretation of Transcendental Idealism: It reimagines transcendental idealism as a bridge between theoretical reason (epistemology) and practical reason (history and ethics).
Contemporary Relevance: The study revitalizes Kantian epistemology for modern interdisciplinary research, including the philosophy of science and humanities, by analyzing the synthesis of empirical and rational elements.
Practical Application:
Education. Leveraging Kant"s model of the synthesis of sensibility and understanding to design courses in philosophy, epistemology, and critical thinking.
Philosophy of Science. Applying Kant"s insights on the structuring of experience to examine the methodology of scientific cognition, particularly in interpreting data across natural and social sciences.
Social and Ethical Studies. Incorporating Kantian notions of reason and sensibility into research on moral motivation and mechanisms of collective progress, such as movements for justice.
Keywords: Transcendental idealism, Sensibility, Understanding, A priori knowledge, Categories, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Kant.
Introduction. Theoretical Reason and Kant"s Epistemology
Immanuel Kant"s Critique of Pure Reason (1781), authored by the German philosopher (1724-1804), is a seminal work that redefined the nature of human cognition. Kant poses a central question: "How is a priori knowledge possible?" His response is grounded in transcendental idealism, which posits that knowledge is confined to phenomena shaped by sensibility and understanding, while "things in themselves" remain beyond our epistemic reach (Kant 1998: 136). Departing from empiricism, which roots knowledge in experience, and rationalism, which relies on innate ideas, Kant advances a synthetic model wherein sensibility and understanding collaborate to produce objective knowledge.
I. Sensibility and Understanding as the Basis of Cognition
Kant contends that cognition emerges only through the combined operation of sensibility and understanding: "Without sensibility no object would be given to us, and without understanding no object would be thought" (Kant 1998: 193). Sensibility furnishes intuitions-direct representations of objects structured by the a priori forms of space and time (Kant 1998: 157). Understanding, conversely, employs categories (e.g., causality, substance) to interpret these intuitions (Kant 1998: 211). This synthesis underpins the objectivity of experience, as the categories are both universal and a priori.
A compelling parallel emerges in Kant"s philosophy of history, where emotions such as ambition and rivalry propel social conflicts toward a rational order (Kant 1991: 44). In the Critique of Pure Reason, sensibility organizes experience; similarly, in the historical domain, "pathological" feelings-those rooted in sensibility rather than reason-foster the development of institutions, paving the way for rational structures. Kant thus underscores the universal role of structuring mechanisms (sensory or emotional) in ordering chaotic material, whether perceptual or societal.
II. Transcendental Idealism and the Boundaries of Metaphysics
Kant"s transcendental idealism restricts knowledge to phenomena, excluding "things in themselves" from cognitive access. This framework enables him to critique dogmatic metaphysics, which asserts knowledge of absolute reality (Kant 1998: 413). Instead, Kant introduces regulative ideas of reason-such as the unity of nature-that guide cognition without asserting ontological certainty (Kant 1998: 591).
Rejecting the knowability of "things in themselves" (noumena)-objective reality as it exists independently-Kant challenges the classical notion of truth as the correspondence between thought and being (adaequatio intellectus et rei). For Kant, truth pertains solely to phenomena constructed by consciousness, where sensibility organizes data via a priori forms (space and time) and understanding applies categories (e.g., cause, substance) to synthesize experience. The twelve categories constitute the conditions for all possible experience.
Kant defines "truth" as the alignment of cognition with the a priori conditions of experience: "What is truth? The nominal definition of truth lies in the agreement of cognition with its object" (Kant 1998: 197). Ideas of reason (e.g., God, soul, the world as a totality) lack ontological grounding but function as regulative principles to orient cognition. As Kant notes, "Pure reason does not dictate laws but merely directs the understanding" (Kant 1998: 512).
This concept echoes in Kant"s philosophy of history, where a teleological design of nature steers progress through antagonistic emotions, like rivalry, toward a rational society (Kant 1991: 45). Analogous to the regulative ideas in the Critique of Pure Reason, historical teleology is not empirically verifiable but serves as a heuristic for interpreting progress. Thus, transcendental idealism integrates the theoretical and historical dimensions of Kant"s thought, illustrating how reason structures both cognition and social evolution.
III. The Relevance of Kantian Epistemology
Kant"s cognitive framework retains significance for contemporary philosophy. The synthesis of sensibility and understanding applies to the philosophy of science, where empirical data (sensibility) are interpreted through theoretical constructs (understanding). For instance, in quantum mechanics, distinguishing phenomena from things in themselves aids in understanding interpretations of the wave function.
Kant transcends the polarities of empiricism (knowledge solely from experience) and rationalism (knowledge solely from reason) with a synthetic approach:
1. Sensibility (Sinnlichkeit): Supplies empirical material via space and time.
2. Understanding (Verstand): Orders this material using categories (e.g., causality, substance).
3. Reason (Vernunft): Guides cognition toward systematic unity.
Kant"s transcendental idealism (phenomena vs. things in themselves) raises a key question: How is objectivity achievable in the social sciences and humanities, where objects (culture, language, history) are interpretively constructed? Kant"s framework provides an answer: objectivity stems not from correspondence to "things in themselves" (Ding an sich) but from consistency with the universal a priori conditions of experience:
Categories of understanding (e.g., causality, substance) ensure experiential coherence.
A priori forms (space, time) structure perception.
Kant"s notion of "universal validity" (Allgemeingültigkeit) asserts:
Cognition is valid when it adheres to transcendental rules, not subjective whims.
Science, including the humanities, is feasible due to shared cognitive structures.
Kant emphasizes that we construct phenomena non-arbitrarily:
Sensory data (empirical input) constrain interpretive possibilities.
Categories establish the framework for comprehension.
Kant"s concept of enthusiasm as a moral feeling tied to progress (Kant 1979: 182) aligns with his epistemology: just as sensibility and understanding generate knowledge, moral sentiments signal reason"s advancement in history. This interdisciplinary potential unites epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics within Kantian philosophy.
Conclusions
1. In the Critique of Pure Reason, Kant demonstrates that knowledge arises from the synthesis of sensibility and understanding, forming transcendental idealism, which confines cognition to phenomena.
2. Parallels between sensibility"s role in cognition and its function in historical progress underscore the universality of Kant"s approach to structuring experience and society.
3. Kant"s epistemology remains pertinent to the philosophy of science and humanities, providing a model for analyzing the interplay of empirical and rational dimensions.