Kant and the Laws of NatureMichela Massimi, Angela Breitenbach Laws of nature play a central role in Kant's theoretical philosophy and are crucial to understanding his philosophy of science in particular. In this volume of new essays, the first systematic investigation of its kind, a distinguished team of scholars explores Kant's views on the laws of nature in the physical and life sciences. Their essays focus particularly on the laws of physics and biology, and consider topics including the separation in Kant's treatment of the physical and life sciences, the relation between universal and empirical laws of nature, and the role of reason and the understanding in imposing order and lawful unity upon nature. The volume will be of great interest to advanced students and scholars of Kant's philosophy of science, and to historians and philosophers of science more generally. |
Contents
Kant on the Unity and Diversity of Laws | 11 |
On Universality Necessity and Law in General in Kant | 30 |
Kant Hume | 49 |
Why Must We Presuppose the Systematicity of Nature? | 71 |
Empirical Scientific Investigation and the Ideas of Reason | 89 |
Kants Transcendental Principle of Purposiveness | 108 |
Kants Necessitation Account of Laws and the Nature | 131 |
Grounds Modality and Nomic Necessity in the Critical Kant | 150 |
Kant on Mathematical Force Laws | 171 |
Kants Conception of Causal Necessity and Its Legacy | 195 |
Metaphysical Foundations of Neoclassical Mechanics | 214 |
Laws in Biology and the Unity of Nature | 237 |
The Building Forces of Nature and Kants Teleology | 256 |
| 275 | |
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Common terms and phrases
according attractive force basic body causal powers claim cognition constitutive contingent Cramond Island Critique of Judgment determining diffuses dispositional effects empirical causal laws empirical concepts empirical laws epistemic essential properties essentialist existence experience explain faculty Friedman function fundamental gravitation Guyer idea imaginarius intensive magnitude inverse-square law Kant’s account Kant’s conception Kant’s view Kantian knowledge lawful unity lawlike laws of nature logical mass-points mathematical matter maxims mechanical Metaphysical Foundations modal move Monadology moral law nature’s purposiveness nature’s systematic necessary necessity of empirical Newton’s Newtonian nomic normative notion objects organisms particular laws phenomena philosophy physical possible power of judgment presupposition principle of nature’s priori laws question Ratio fiendi rational real grounds reflective judgment regulative principles relation repulsive force role rules Second Analogy sense space spatiotemporal specific suggest systematic unity theoretical theory things transcendental idealism transcendental laws transcendental principle understanding unity of nature Watkins