PHIL5590 · Philosophy

Kant's Critique of the Traditional Metaphysics in his Post-Critical Writings

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

With the Critique of Pure Reason, Kant intended to ground metaphysics on a new foundation. This new foundation aimed at limiting, in the first instance, the claims of rationalist dogmatism of Wolffian and Leibnizian mold to a speculative metaphysics. In addition to this par destruens coinciding with the transcendental philosophy as a critique of knowledge, the foundational operation of the first Critique involved a pars construens: the foundation of metaphysics as moral philosophy. The project of the Kantian critical philosophy did not fail to arouse controversy, especially from representatives of Leibnizian and Wolffian metaphysics in Germany. In particular, the philosopher Johann August Eberhard and the Prussian Academy of Sciences itself promoted an active campaign against the Kantian thought, in defense of the system of Leibniz and Wolff. Among the writings in which Kant retorts to his opponents, two are particularly important: On a discovery whereby any new critique of pure reason is to be made superfluous by an older one (1790) and what real progress has metaphysics made in Germany since the time of Leibniz and Wolff? (1793/1804). Both works are related by a deep systematic unity and constitute, in some ways, an attempt by Kant to make an assessment of his own critical philosophy and to highlight the most original points in his thinking. Satisfies the following distributions requirement(s) for Philosophy: Modern/History of Philosophy/Knowledge & Reality.