Abstract
The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, I want to examine some rather curious arguments of Kant’s which purport to show that some alleged properties of space can be derived from some alleged facts about incongruous counterparts. Secondly, I want to give some preliminary answers to some important questions about the distinction between right and left and the nature of space and space-time which are raised by Kant’s argument. As a byproduct, I hope that the discussion will provide an example of how science can illuminate philosophical issues and of how philosophy can at least lead one into interesting scientific issues.
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I was somewhat bemused upon rereading these youthful reflections. I agreed to have the paper reprinted because it may help the reader to understand the development of the recent philosophical discussion of these issues.
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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Earman, J. (1991). Kant, Incongruous Counterparts, and the Nature of Space and Space-Time. In: Van Cleve, J., Frederick, R.E. (eds) The Philosophy of Right and Left. The University of Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science, vol 46. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3736-2_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3736-2_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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