Kants Attack on the Amphiboly of the Concepts of Reflection :: Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Kants Attack on the amphibology of the Concepts of ReflectionABSTRACT In the neglected Amphiboly of the Concepts of Reflection, Kant introduces a advanced supernatural activity, Transcendental Deliberation (Kemp Smith calls it Transcendental Reflection). It aims to determine to which faculty a representation belongs and does so by examining the representations relationships to other representations. This enterprise yields some herculean ideas. (1) Some of the relationships studied have great interest, numerical identity in particular. Indeed, seeing Kant discuss it here, one wonders wherefore he did not acknowledge it in the flurry of Categories. (2) Kant gives a solid argument for the necessity of a sensible element in representations, something not found elsewhere in the Transcendental Analytic. In the neglected Amphiboly of the Concepts of Reflection, Kant introduces a new transcendental activity, Transcendental Deliberation (Kemp Smith calls it Transcendental Reflection). I t aims to determine to which faculty a representation belongs and does so by examining the representations relationships to other representations. This enterprise yields some stiff ideas. (1) Some of the relationships studied have great interest, numerical identity in particular. Indeed, seeing Kant discuss it here, one wonders why he did not allow it in the Table of Categories. (2) Kant gives a solid argument for the necessity of a sensible element in representations, something not found elsewhere in the Transcendental Analytic.The Transcendental Analytic of Kants Critique of Pure Reason ends with a little appendix on what Kant calls the Amphiboly of the Concepts of Reflection. As an appendix, the passage is more than a little curious. The point that Kant reddentually gets around to defending, that we are sure only of appearances, not things as they are in themselves, is familiar, but the argument that Kant now gives for it is entirely new and so interesting that one wonders w hy Kant relegated it to an appendix. Second, the passage introduces an important new concept, namely, numerical identity. For the first time in the Critique so far, Kant treats the notion separately and gives it important work to do. The Table of Categories does not so much as mention numerical identity, even though the concept would seem to be at least as good a candidate for categorial status as, say, modality.Third, the passage argues for the offer that knowledge requires sensible intuitions as well as concepts. Prior to the Amphiboly Kant has of course asserted this many times but try to adventure an argument Here he offers one.