Essay on Kant, the Body, and Knowledge - 3856 Words

I discuss the philosophical significance of Kants great cosmological work of 1755, the Universal Natural History. I discuss how Kants interest in Newtonian universal forces led him to affirm a peculiar version of the physical influx theory. I argue that Kants speculations about life on other planets are highly significant because they point to a key feature of Kants theory of physical influx, namely that the nimble motions of the body stand as necessary conditions of the possibility of knowledge. This work directs us to an important topic that has received little scholarly interest: the relation between the body and knowledge in Kants philosophical writings. For nearly all of his career, Kant believed that the body stands as a†¦show more content†¦First, the radically different natures of souls and bodies make them incapable of acting on one another. Second, any action by the soul on the body would violate laws of conservation of motion. Third, physical influx involves the m etaphysically ridiculous claim that accidents migrate from substance to substance. More generally physical influx theories were also thought to lead to a determinism that was morally pernicious, namely because it undermines freedom, responsibility, and Scripture. So much for historical background. Kants theory of physical influx begins with his interest in Newtonian universal forces. This interest is in his Universal Natural History and Theory of the Heavens (1755), a work whose subtitle is Essay on the Constitution and Mechanical Origin of the Entire Universe, Treated in Accordance with Newtonian Principles. The plan of this work is to show how general laws of motion and the accepted law of attraction can be used to explain the development of the universe out of an original chaos (1:246, Jaki p. 92.) (2) In this way, he seeks to discover the systematic factor which ties together the great members of the created realm in the whole extent of infinity (1:221, Jaki p. 81). Kants focus on the systematicity of nature makes his concerns even more far-reaching than extending Newtonian mechanics to explain the evolution of theShow MoreRelatedCompare and contrast the significance for psychology of Descartes and Kant1568 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ Compare and contrast the significance for psychology of Descartes and Kant Descartes and Kant, both of them are famous philosophers and they are well known for their contributions to philosophy. At the same time, they have great influence on the development of psychology. I am going to compare their significance of psychology. By observing some mechanical thingsRead MoreCartesian Rationalism Vs. 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