As we have seen last time , Kant’s problem in the Critique of Pure Reason is that of the possibility of synthetic a priori judgements. We have discussed what synthetic a priori judgements are and why they are important. How does Kant continue from here on out? Kant’s plan is to examine knowledge. He recognises two sources that are fundamental to knowledge: sensibility and understanding. Knowledge requires us to experience objects and to think about the objects we experience. This experience is given by our senses; we see, hear, taste, smell and feel. By thinking we apply concepts to the things that we experience. We can judge that what we see is a pen, that this pen is blue, and so on. In the Critique , Kant examines these two sources of knowledge separately. The transcendental aesthetics examines sensibility; the transcendental logic examines understanding. What is transcendental aesthetics? Where did Kant get his title from? What is transcendental aesthetics? Let’s start by goin...
Is the world around us real? Do physical things truly exist? This question seems absurd, but it plays a fundamental role in Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy , specifically the Sixth Meditation. His goal? To find a foundation of knowledge that is absolutely certain. Why question physical reality? This question is born in the search for indubitable foundations of knowledge. The hyperbolic and methodological doubt of Descartes has put into question the existence of physical things. He imagined the possibility that everything he experiences could be a dream or a deception by an evil demon. However, if physical things do not exist, we need to acknowledge that physics, astronomy, and all other sciences with physical things as their objects are doubtful. Descartes’ scepticism has led him to conclude one thing for certain: “ I am, I exist ” (often known by the slightly different formulation cogito, ergo sum ). That’s not enough! Descartes also wants to rebuild all knowledge on t...