Kant Flashcards
Kant claims that Maths and Physics only became sciences after a revolution. What was this revolution?
Copernican revolution: referring to the time in which it was thought the sun revolves around the earth, and then Copernicus saying it is actually the other way around: the earth revolves around the sun.
For kant this revolution was: We don’t just look at the world and that picture transferes to our mind (from Locke & Barkley), Its the other way around: people have concepts in our mind, and we test those in the world.
Like physicists develop models in their minds and then experiment to see how well those models match reality. The result teaches us about the world.
So not longer world to us, but also us to world.
The difference between the pure a priori and the a posteriori.
a Posteriori: Knowledge that we have that depends on some kind of experience. We know what a colour looks like, we know that elephants are big, because we have perceived it. They are only generally true or probably true.
Pure a Priori: Knowledge that does not rely on experience at all. Mathematics do not rely on you experiencing the world. You can do mathematics just by thinking.
Because pure a priori is true without experience, they are true universally and necessarily. You cannot imagine a world in which this knowledge could have been different.
Why does Kant think that a priori reasoning can take us nowhere?
In a Priori reasoning there can be a kind of investigation that just goes around in circles. You are not really going anywhere. It doesn’t teach us anything new.
I can say a bachelor is an unmarried man, and that an unmarried man is a bachelor. It doesn’t rely on any experience, just on knowing what a bachelor is. But it doesn’t bring us anything new.
The difference between analytical and synthetic judgements.
Analytical claims: B is interlay contained in A. A bachelor is an unmarried man. Being unmarried is contained in the concept of being bachelors
Synthetic claims: A is B, but is B not contained within A - it falls outside off it. There is a connection between two things, but you are learning something new about A.
Bachelors are the owners of sports cars. Having sports cars are not contained in being a bachelor, but are something additional tot the concept of bachelors.
Examples of synthetic a priori judgements. The explanation of why these judgements are important for Metaphysics.
A priori judgements are known without any experience and therefore universally and necessarily true.
Synthetic claim: A is B, But B is not entirely contained in A, it is additional.
So a synthetic a priori claim would be: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. A straight line just is a straight line. To say that it is the shortest distance between two points, is applying some quantity to it. Something additional.
The reason why it is important for Metaphysics is that it is a priori science and wants to be universally and necessarily true. But to do metaphysics we don’t want to go in circles. Just saying an event is an event is not enough. Methaphisics wants to add something new.
So a priori synthetic judgements are the very important to metaphysics.
An understanding of what are Transcendental Arguments according to Kant.
- X is a necessary condition for Y to exist
- Y obtains
- therefore, X must obtain as well
- That the world started existing at some point is a necessary condition for the world to exist
- The world exists
- So the world started existing at some point
- synthetic a priori judgements are necessary condition for metaphysics to exist
- metaphysics exists
- so synthetic a priori judgements are possible
