Kristina Engelhard

Das seit einigen Jahren wachsende Interesse an Fragen der philosophischen Ethik scheint ungebrochen. Dabei ergeben sich durch die Auseinandersetzungen mit den unterschiedlichen Formen und Konzepten der Moralphilosophie Spannungen, aus denen ein heute kaum noch überschaubarer Pluralismus der Ethiken hervorgegangen ist. Dieser Pluralismus lässt sich jedoch im wesentlichen auf zwei unterschiedliche Begründungskonzepte zurückführen: Universalismus und Relativismus. Der von Heidemann und Engelhard vorgelegte Band untersucht die beiden Konzepte sowohl in philosophiegeschichtlicher als auch in systematischer Hinsicht. Pluspunkte umfassendes Kompendium geeignet als Einführung in die Thematik sowie zur Vertiefung einzelner Positionen berücksichtigt neue Positionen in der Ethikbegründung.

Für die Gegenwartsphilosophie ist das Denken Immanuel Kants immer noch eine der maßgeblichen Orientierungsgrößen. In nahezu allen philosophischen Disziplinen und Bereichen stellt es eine entscheidende Herausforderung dar. Anlässlich des 200. Todestages zeigen 15 namhafte Wissenschaftler die aktuelle Relevanz des Kant'schen Denkens in den Kernbereichen der Philosophie auf. Somit bietet der Band in systematischer Perspektive sowohl einen Überblick über die Kant'sche Philosophie als auch über zentrale Strömungen und Entwicklungen der Gegenwartsphilosophie.

It is well known that Kant used inductive arguments in his pre-critical philosophy, for example, in his 1764 Prize essay according to which metaphysics should follow Newton’s “analytic method” of natural science. However, his critical metaphysics of nature also uses several inductive tools, contrary to the widespread belief that his apriorism is only compatible with deductive reasoning. In this chapter, we pre- sent three cases of inductive reasoning found in his critical metaphys- ics of nature. First, Kant carries out an “experiment of pure reason” in Preface B of the Critique of Pure Reason to rule out transcendental realism via the cosmological antinomy. Second, he argues in the Ap- pendix to the Transcendental Dialectic that the transcendental ideas of traditional metaphysics can only serve as regulative principles for expanding our knowledge of nature, and he uses an inference to the best explanation (IBE) in the Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science. Third, at the end of the Critique, he claims that these prin- ciples support doctrinal belief. The chapter shows how each of these cases of inductive reasoning can be understood as a kind of IBE and discusses the significance of Kant’s arguments.

Immanuel Kant is among the most pivotal thinkers in the history of philosophy. His transcendental idealism claims to overcome the skepticism of David Hume, resolve the impasse between empiricism and rationalism, and establish the reality of human freedom and moral agency. A thorough understanding of Kant is indispensable to any philosopher today. The significance of Kant's thought is matched by its complexity. His revolutionary ideas are systematically interconnected and he presents them using a forbidding technical vocabulary. A careful investigation of the key concepts that structure Kant's work is essential to the comprehension of his philosophical project. This book provides an accessible introduction to Kant by explaining each of the key concepts of his philosophy. The book is organized into three parts, which correspond to the main areas of Kant's transcendental idealism: Theoretical Philosophy; Practical Philosophy; and, Aesthetics, Teleology, and Religion. Each chapter presents an overview of a particular topic, while the whole provides a clear and comprehensive account of Kant's philosophical system.

In his Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science (MAN) (1786), Kant aims to lay out an a priori foundation of physics, in his view the fundamental natural science, on the basis of his newly developed transcendental philosophy. Until recently, MAN has been one of Kant’s works that have received least attention. This might be due to its technical content, which reflects the physics and chemistry of his time, or its difficult style, or its quick way of moving from topic to topic: even by Kantian standards, MAN is an enigmatic work. To Kant scholars not working in the field, it is also one of his most time-bound works. Others, however, see strong connections between the first Critique and MAN, and some even link... Read More.

La critique de la métaphysique dans la Dialectique transcendantale de la Critique de la raison pure débouche sur la doctrine de l’usage régulateur des idées transcendantales de la raison pure. La théorie de l’usage régulateur de ces idées est relativement abstraite et demande à être clarifiée. Kant affirme que ces idées ont un usage dans les sciences empiriques. Cependant il ne spécifie pas quel usage les sciences peuvent faire de ces idées. Dans cet article je compare les caractéristiques des idées transcendantales aux caractéristiques des modèles scientifiques. Ainsi la thèse principale de mon article est que la théorie kantienne de l’usage régulateur des idées est comparable à la modélisation en science. C’est ce que je nomme « l’approche modélisatrice des idées transcendantales chez Kant ». D’après cette interprétation, on trouve chez ce dernier une conception relativement élaborée de la modélisation que l’on peut comprendre comme signifiant que la métaphysique fournit aux sciences les formes les plus universelles de modèles qui peuvent être spécifiés pour des objectifs particuliers par les sciences.

The aim of this paper is to motivate a view on dispositions according to which dispositions and their manifestations are partially identical, the DM identity theory. It sets out by extrapolating the desiderata of a dispositionalist account of properties. It then shows that the previous theories are burdened with different problems, whose common cause, so the argument goes, is the separation assumption, which almost all share. It states that dispositions and their manifestations are numerically distinct. The paper then explores whether the separation assumption can be abandoned and shows that there are precursors of a DM identity theory. The DM identity theory is then outlined in its central features and it is outlined how they can fulfil the desiderata of dispositionalism.

Does matter consist of the simple or is it divisible into infinity? This is the question posed by the second antinomy of the Critique of Pure Reason. In this first comprehensive systematic study of the antinomy of division, its derivation, the proofs for thesis and antithesis as well as the resolution are analysed. The developmental and historical dimensions of the topic are also discussed. The study shows that although the antinomy of division is on the one hand a critique of metaphysics, it nevertheless achieves a positive result for Kant's transcendental philosophy: On the one hand, the resolution of the antinomy represents a conceptual sharpening of realism and idealism as well as of the transcendental concept of appearance. On the other hand, it shows that the structure of matter is conditioned by a priori determinations of reason and understanding. These insights are highly relevant not only for Kant's enterprise of an a priori foundation of the natural sciences, but also for the problem of the soul.