Kant's theory of matter is reconstructed and his views about and impact on chemistry are studied. His early "monadological" conception is analyzed and compared to other dynamical approaches of the period. His later attempt to regard matter as a continuum and to derive some of its properties from the interaction of forces is reconstructed. His conception of chemistry is examined and compared to the notion of some chemists who were inspired by Kant's work.

It is argued that Hume has two notions of causation, one psychological and the other philosophical. Kant's criticism of Hume overlooks the fact that Hume's scepticism is directed only at the latter. At the psychological level, Hume could have accepted Kant's argument without abandoning his own account of causation. The real difference between Hume and Kant is that Hume is not and Kant is concerned with the conditions for the possibility of sense experience. Hume is concerned only with the philosophical (...) inferences we can draw, having experienced the world in a certain way. (shrink)