Philosophy: The Prolegomena by Kant - Essay Example

Kant intends that his work will be used by anatomists of reason away from historical knowledge. Because the content of his work is something new, Kant contends that the time for philosophical historians will come after critics and anatomists are done with their work. His intent behind writing this essay is to show that metaphysics requires openness in order to get fresh insights, rather than its reduction to something already known in scientific circles. Simply, Kant intends to restrict metaphysical investigations to the knowledge and experience that will make it actual or possible.

The question of whether science is possible shows that there is doubt about its actuality. The metaphysics that Kant refers to is only possible through virtue of its existence, as well as what he calls illusionary knowledge, which works to render it unviable as a science. Kant proposes several conditions that must be satisfied for a possible science like metaphysics to become actual science. He contends that possible science must have universal recognition with its validity being a major feature.

He also says that possible science must have lasting recognition with featured acceptance in order for it to be considered actual science, while it should also undergo continual advancement and cumulative progress. Finally, possible science should also possess standards of knowledge that aid in the discrimination of ignorance. There needs to be a careful and accurate investigation of pure reason’s existing critique, which, if absent, should render all pretensions of the possible science impractical.

The modern idea of science is that there should be knowledge that is experimentally verifiable and methodical, which are the critical factors and conditions of actual science. Kant argues that it is not possible to extend knowledge to speculative metaphysics, which is a super-sensible realm in his words. He argues that knowledge is possessed of these constraints because the mind has an active part to play in the constitution of experience, while its access is limited to the empirical field of time and space.

One reason that the conditions mentioned above render metaphysics impossible as a science is that it does not possess universal and long-lasting recognition or universal validity. This means that the public does not externally approve it, while the scientific community does not have an internal consensus about it. A second reason why the conditions render metaphysics impossible, as a science is that it does not produce results, let alone progress. Metaphysics at this time was still in the same place it was during Aristotle’s time.

In addition, its lack of a criterion to distinguish ignorance from sound knowledge renders it impossible as a science. This defect is actually the most severe for metaphysics because it accounts for the fact that anyone has the right to pass judgment, meaning there is a lack of expertise regarding knowledge in metaphysics.ReferencesKant, Immanuel. Prolegomena to any future metaphysics.