University Textbooks; Research and Writting

University Textbooks; Research and Writting

A critical reflection on the Interpretation of Transcendental Idealism in ‘Substrata of Knowledge’

Document Type : Research Paper

Author
Mustafa Zali
Philosophy Department, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Tehran
10.30487/rwab.2023.551841.1506
Abstract
This investigation aims the critical review of interpretation of transcendental idealism based on the book ‘Substrata of Knowledge’. Transcendental idealism is one of the controversial theses in Kant's philosophy concerning the relation between the appearance and the thing-in-itself and has become the source of various interpretive currents; So that, some consider this distinction as an epistemological distinction and see it as two ways of considering a single object. Others, on the other hand, see this distinction as an ontological distinction; In this second group, some consider this distinction to require the realization of objects in two different worlds (two worlds interpretation) and others consider this distinction to refer to two different categories of single object attributes. In this article, using the analytical method, the interpretation of the book ‘Substrata of Knowledge’ is critically reflected. According to this book, transcendental idealism, that is, the commitment to the existence of things-in-themselves and the effect of them on cognition, is completely incompatible with Kant's principles; This article shows that its interpretation is like the two worlds interpretation; Then, by reference to the recent Kantian studies, it will be shown that this interpretation is consistent and defensible within the framework of Kant's philosophy.
Keywords
Kant
thing in itself
two-worlds interpretation
Substrata of Knowledge
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University Textbooks; Research and Writting
Volume 26, Issue 51
February 2023
Pages 98-122