Cuffaro, Michael E. (2018) Kantian and Neo-Kantian First Principles for Physical and Metaphysical Cognition. [Preprint]

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Abstract

I argue that Immanuel Kant's critical philosophy---in particular the doctrine of transcendental idealism which grounds it---is best understood as an `epistemic' or `metaphilosophical' doctrine. As such it aims to show how one may engage in the natural sciences and in metaphysics under the restriction that certain conditions are imposed on our cognition of objects. Underlying Kant's doctrine, however, is an ontological posit, of a sort, regarding the fundamental nature of our cognition. This posit, sometimes called the `discursivity thesis', while considered to be completely obvious and uncontroversial by some, has nevertheless been denied by thinkers both before and after Kant. One such thinker is Jakob Friedrich Fries, an early neo-Kantian who, despite his rejection of discursivity, also advocated for a metaphilosophical understanding of critical philosophy. As I will explain, a consequence for Fries of the denial of discursivity is a radical reconceptualisation of the method of critical philosophy; whereas this method is a priori for Kant, for Fries it is in general empirical. I discuss these issues in the context of quantum theory, and I focus in particular on the views of the physicist Niels Bohr and the Neo-Friesian philosopher Grete Hermann. I argue that Bohr's understanding of quantum mechanics can be seen as a natural extension of an orthodox Kantian viewpoint in the face of the challenges posed by quantum theory, and I compare this with the extension of Friesian philosophy that is represented by Hermann's view.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Cuffaro, Michael E. mike@michaelcuffaro.com 0000-0003-4477-5601
Additional Information:	This version adds a footnote on the first page with a reference to the published version, and makes a small number of further minor changes and corrections.
Keywords:	Immanuel Kant Grete Hermann Niels Bohr Quantum Mechanics Indeterminacy Uncertainty Transcendental Idealism
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Causation General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Laws of Nature General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Depositing User:	Dr. Michael Cuffaro
Date Deposited:	07 Jan 2023 14:34
Last Modified:	07 Jan 2023 14:34
Item ID:	21625
Official URL:	https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-03...
Subjects:	General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Causation General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Laws of Nature General Issues > Philosophers of Science Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Date:	18 November 2018
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/21625

Available Versions of this Item

• Causality and Complementarity in Kant, Hermann, and Bohr. (deposited 07 Feb 2018 16:55)
  • Kantian and Neo-Kantian First Principles for Physical and Metaphysical Cognition. (deposited 20 Nov 2018 01:42)
    • Kantian and Neo-Kantian First Principles for Physical and Metaphysical Cognition. (deposited 07 Jan 2023 14:34) [Currently Displayed]

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