Kant and the “awakening” from the rationalist principle of sufficient reason
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31649/sent39.02.104Keywords:
antinomy, causal maxim, dogmatic slumber, Hume, SpinozaAbstract
The paper inspects Anderson’s central thesis that Kant’s dogmatic slumber was interrupted by Hume’s critique of metaphysics (rational theology) in his Enquiry concerning Human Understanding, namely, by his critique of the rationalist principle of sufficient reason, which lies at the heart of dogmatic proofs of God’s existence. I recreate the meaning of “Hume’s objection,” define the larger role the principle of sufficient reason plays in Kant’s philosophy, and evaluate the explanatory potential of Anderson’s interpretation in view of Kant’s early and critical texts, as well as his other autobiographical statements (such as his famous letter to Garve). Although Anderson’s hypothesis seems well-founded and even explicates the hidden connection between the entire critical project and the refutation of Spinozism, I argue it is almost impossible to reconcile it with the current research in Kant’s Entwicklungsgeschichte.
References
Al-Azm, S. J. (1972). The Origins of Kant’s Arguments in the Antinomies. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Anderson, A. (2020). Kant, Hume and the Interruption of Dogmatic Slumber. New York: OUP. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190096748.001.0001
Bayle, P. (1697). Dictionaire historique et critique, Tome Second, Seconde Partie: P-Z. Rotterdam: chez Reinier Leers.
Beck, L. W. (1978). A Prussian Hume and a Scottish Kant. Essays on Kant and Hume. (pp. 111-129). London: YUP.
Boehm, O. (2015). Kant’s Critique of Spinoza. New York: OUP. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199354801.001.0001
Boehm, O. (2016). The Principle of Sufficient Reason, the Ontological Argument and the Is/Ought Distinction. European Journal of Philosophy, 24(3), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejop.12130
Boer, K. de. (2019). Kant’s Response to Hume’s Critique of Pure Reason. Archiv Für Geschichte Der Philosophie, 101(3), 376-406. https://doi.org/10.1515/agph-2019-3003
Falkenstein, L. (1995). The Great Light of 1769 - A Humeian Awakening? Comments on Lothar Kreimendahl’s Account of Hume’s Influence on Kant. Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, 77(1), 63-79.
Henrich, D. (1965). Über Kants Entwicklungsgeschichte. Philosophische Rundschau, 13(3-4), 252-263.
Henrich, D. (1967). Kants Denken 1762-63: Über den Ursprung der Unterscheidung analytischer und synthetischer Urteile. In H. Heimsoeth, D. Henrich, & G. Tonelli (Hrsg.), Studien zu Kants philosophischer Entwicklung (S. 7-36). Hildesheim: Georg Olms.
Hinske, N. (1965). Kants Begriff der Antinomie und die Etappen seiner Ausarbeitung. Kant-Studien, 56(3-4), 485-496. https://doi.org/10.1515/kant.1965.56.3-4.485
Hume, D. (2007). An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding And Other Writings (Buckle S., Ed.). Cambridge: CUP.
Jacobi, F. (1998). Schriften zum Spinozastreit. Hamburg: Felix Meiner Verlag. https://doi.org/10.28937/978-3-7873-3373-8
Kant, I. (1961). Vorlesungen über Philosophische Enzyklopädie. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
Kant, I. (1998). Kritik der reinen Vernunft. Hamburg: Meiner. https://doi.org/10.28937/978-3-7873-2112-4
Kant, I. (2001). Prolegomena zu einer jeden künftigen Metaphysik, die als Wissenschaft wird auftreten können. Hamburg: Meiner. https://doi.org/10.28937/978-3-7873-2114-8
Kant, I. (2015). Der einzig mögliche Beweisgrund zu einer Demonstration des Daseins Gottes. Hamburg: Felix Meiner Verlag. http://doi.org/10.28937/978-3-7873-2183-4
Kant, I. (2018). Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics That Will Be Able to Present Itself as a Science. [In Ukrainian]. (Ed. & Trans. V. Terletsky). Kharkiv: Folio.
Kemp-Smith, N. (2003). A Commentary to Kant’s ‘Critique of Pure Reason’. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230595965
Kreimendahl, L. (2015). Eine neue Hypothese zu Kants früher philosophische Entwicklung? Erwiderung auf Wolfgang Kienzler. Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung 69(1), 43-60. https://doi.org/10.3196/004433015814697861
Kreines, J. (2008). Metaphysics without Pre-Critical Monism: Hegel on Lower-Level Natural Kinds and the Structure of Reality. Bulletin of the Hegel Society of Great Britain 29(1-2), 48-70. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026352320000077X
Kuehn, M. (1983a). Dating Kant's «Vorlesungen über Philosophische Enzyklopädie«. Kant-Studien, 74(3), 302-313. https://doi.org/10.1515/kant.1983.74.3.302
Kuehn, M. (1983b). Hume’s Antinomies. Hume Studies, 9(1), 25-45. https://doi.org/10.1353/hms.2011.0520
Kuehn, M. (1983c). Kant’s Conception of Hume’s Problem. Journal of History of Philosophy, 21(2), 175-183. https://doi.org/10.1353/hph.1983.0051
Longuenesse, B. (2001). Kant’s Deconstruction of the Principle of Sufficient Reason. The Harvard Review of Philosophy 9(1), 67-87. https://doi.org/10.5840/harvardreview2001917
Reid, T. (1782). Thomas Reid’s, DD. Lehrer der Moral auf der Universität zu Glasgow, Untersuchung über den menschlichen Geist: nach den Grundsätzen des gemeinen Menschenverstandes. Leipzig: Schwickert.
Spinoza, B. (1999). Ethik in geometrischer Ordnung dargestellt. (W. Bartuschat, Hrsg.). Hamburg: Meiner.
Watkins, E. (2004). Kant and the Metaphysics of Causality. Cambridge: CUP. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511614217
Downloads
-
PDF (Українська)
Downloads: 427
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).