Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science

Immanuel Kant

2024年5月 · Minerva Heritage Press

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150

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A new translation of Immanuel Kant’s 1786 Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science (Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der Naturwissenschaft) in modern American English with the original German manuscript in the back for reference.

This is Volume VI in The Complete Works of Immanuel Kant from Livraria Press.

Published one year before the Critique of Pure Reasons, Metaphysical Foundations is Kant's methodology which would be used in his famous Critique. He attempts to deconstruct an Empiricist Epistemology and show that a priori principles, which are inherently metaphysical in nature, are necessary for the possibility of science to happen in the first place. He is reconciling the new mechanical causality concepts created by Newton with their philosophic preconceptions. While his theory of Phoronomy and movement are not useful to modern physics, this work outlines some basic Epistemological Platonic criticisms of Material Determinism which would be proven Empirically, ironically, by Einstein's Quantum theories and modern theories of perceptual consciousness.

One of the most fascinating contributions Kant brings to modern Science through this work is in Quantum Mechanics. Kant, not Newton or Einstein, was the first to posit the theory of "action at a distance" which would eventually be proven by the observation of Quantum Entanglement. In the second section of this treaty, he writes Theorem 7 as "The attraction essential to all matter is a direct effect of the same on others through empty space"

Kant's Foundations is a great primer on his Critique and outlines the pure materialism, and the Humic ethics which follows, against which Kant is attempting to correct.

關於作者

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher whose work established a new foundation for philosophy, particularly in the fields of epistemology and ethics, making him a pivotal figure of the Enlightenment. In his seminal work, Critique of Pure Reason, Kant introduced the concept of "transcendental idealism," arguing that human knowledge is shaped not only by sensory experience but also by the mind’s inherent structures. This "Copernican revolution" in philosophy shifted the focus to the conditions that make knowledge possible. In Critique of Practical Reason, Kant articulated the "categorical imperative," a moral principle that posits actions as ethical if they can be universalized as a law for all. His emphasis on reason, autonomy, and moral duty has had a lasting impact on ethics, political theory, and modern conceptions of individual freedom and responsibility. Kant’s ideas continue to influence contemporary philosophy, underpinning debates on rationality, morality, and the nature of human understanding.