The A Priori in Philosophy

The A Priori in Philosophy PDF Author: Albert Casullo
Publisher:
ISBN: 0199695334
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
For centuries philosophers have attached much importance to a priori knowledge, but recent work in epistemology and experimental philosophy has questioned this. Leading philosophers discuss explanations of the a priori, challenges to its existence, the status of intuition, and the justification of belief—topics at the centre of current debate.

Kant's Theory of A Priori Knowledge

Kant's Theory of A Priori Knowledge PDF Author: Robert Greenberg
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271040475
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
The prevailing interpretation of Kant’s First Critique in Anglo-American philosophy views his theory of a priori knowledge as basically a theory about the possibility of empirical knowledge (or experience), or the a priori conditions for that possibility (the representations of space and time and the categories). Instead, Robert Greenberg argues that Kant is more fundamentally concerned with the possibility of a priori knowledge—the very possibility of the possibility of empirical knowledge in the first place. Greenberg advances four central theses:(1) the Critique is primarily concerned about the possibility, or relation to objects, of a priori, not empirical knowledge, and Kant’s theory of that possibility is defensible; (2) Kant’s transcendental ontology must be distinct from the conditions of the possibility of a priori knowledge; (3) the functions of judgment, in Kant’s discussion of the Table of Judgments, should be seen according to his transcendental logic as having content, not as being just logical forms of judgment making; (4) Kant’s distinction between and connection of ordering relations (Verhaltnisse) and reference relations (Beziehungen) have to be kept in mind to avoid misunderstanding the Critique. At every step of the way Greenberg contrasts his view with the major interpretations of Kant by commentators like Henry Allison, Jonathan Bennett, Paul Guyer, and Peter Strawson. Not only does this new approach to Kant present a strong challenge to these dominant interpretations, but by being more true to Kant’s own intent it holds promise for making better sense out of what have been seen as the First Critique’s discordant themes.

The Notion of the a Priori

The Notion of the a Priori PDF Author: Mikel Dufrenne
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description


A Priori Knowledge

A Priori Knowledge PDF Author: Paul K. Moser
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780198750833
Category : A priori.
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
Many philosophers are again examining the traditional topic of a priori knowledge, or knowledge that does not depend on sensory experience. This volume collects the most important recent essays on the subject by well-known thinkers such as A.J. Ayer, W.V. Quine, Barry Stroud, C.I. Lewis, Hilary Putnam, Roderick M. Chisholm, Saul A. Kripke, Albert Casullo, R.G. Swinburne, and Philip Kitcher. Including an introduction by the editor and an extensive bibliography, this book provides philosophers and students with an in-depth look at contemporary investigations into the nature of a priori knowledge.

A Priori

A Priori PDF Author: Edwin David Mares
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0773539409
Category : A priori
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Provides an accessible guide to the central questions and most recent areas of debate within the field of a priori knowledge by defending the idea that there is a priori knowledge and that this knowledge is important both in it own right and also for other areas of philosophy, such as metaethics, metaphysics, and philosophy of science.

What Place for the A Priori?

What Place for the A Priori? PDF Author: Michael Shaffer
Publisher: Open Court
ISBN: 0812697413
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
This book deals with questions about the nature of a priori knowledge and its relation to empirical knowledge. Until the twentieth century, it was more or less taken for granted that there was such a thing as a priori knowledge, that is, knowledge whose source is in reason and reflection rather than sensory experience. With a few notable exceptions, philosophers believed that mathematics, logic and philosophy were all a priori. Although the seeds of doubt were planted earlier on, by the early twentieth century, philosophers were widely skeptical of the idea that there was any nontrivial existence of a priori knowledge. By the mid to late twentieth century, it became fashionable to doubt the existence of any kind of a priori knowledge at all. Since many think that philosophy is an a priori discipline if it is any kind of discipline at all, the questions about a priori knowledge are fundamental to our understanding of philosophy itself.

Kant and the Philosophy of Mind

Kant and the Philosophy of Mind PDF Author: Anil Gomes
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198724950
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
The fourteen original essays in this volume explore Kant's writings on the mind, covering such topics as intuition, imagination, inner sense, self-consciousness, and the will. These are central to any understanding of Kant's critical philosophy and of continuing relevance to contemporary debates.

In Defense of Pure Reason

In Defense of Pure Reason PDF Author: Laurence BonJour
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521597456
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
A comprehensive defence of the rationalist view that insight independent of experience is a genuine basis for knowledge.

Kant’s Philosophy of Physical Science

Kant’s Philosophy of Physical Science PDF Author: Robert E. Butts
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400947305
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
The papers in this volume are offered in celebration of the 200th anni versary of the pub 1 i cat i on of Inmanue 1 Kant's The MetaphysicaL Foundations of NatupaL Science. All of the es says (including the Introduction) save two were written espe ci ally for thi s volume. Gernot Bohme' s paper is an amended and enlarged version of one originally read in the series of lectures and colloquia in philosophy of science offered by Boston University. My own paper is a revised and enlarged version (with an appendix containing completely new material) of one read at the biennial meeting of the Philosophy of Sci ence Association held in Chicago in 1984. Why is it important to devote this attention to Kant's last published work in the philosophy of physics? The excellent essays in the volume will answer the question. I will provide some schematic com ments designed to provide an image leading from the general question to its very specific answers. Kant is best known for hi s monumental Croitique of Pure Reason and for his writings in ethical theory. His "critical" philosophy requires an initial sharp division of knowledge into its theoretical and practical parts. Moral perfection of attempts to act out of duty is the aim of practical reason. The aim of theoretical reason is to know the truth about ma terial and spiritual nature.

Conceptual Change and the Philosophy of Science

Conceptual Change and the Philosophy of Science PDF Author: David J. Stump
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317495381
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
In this book, David Stump traces alternative conceptions of the a priori in the philosophy of science and defends a unique position in the current debates over conceptual change and the constitutive elements in science. Stump emphasizes the unique epistemological status of the constitutive elements of scientific theories, constitutive elements being the necessary preconditions that must be assumed in order to conduct a particular scientific inquiry. These constitutive elements, such as logic, mathematics, and even some fundamental laws of nature, were once taken to be a priori knowledge but can change, thus leading to a dynamic or relative a priori. Stump critically examines developments in thinking about constitutive elements in science as a priori knowledge, from Kant’s fixed and absolute a priori to Quine’s holistic empiricism. By examining the relationship between conceptual change and the epistemological status of constitutive elements in science, Stump puts forward an argument that scientific revolutions can be explained and relativism can be avoided without resorting to universals or absolutes.