Immanuel Kant’s Epistemology

Immanuel Kant’s Epistemology

Discuss the extremely challenging excerpt on pp. 198-202 from Kant’s philosophical masterpiece, the Critique of Pure Reason.

Please begin by exploring specific questions that you have about Kant’s text and then discuss those questions to help you to gain the clarity and insight that is needed to answer the following questions: •What, according to Kant, is the distinction between pure and empirical knowledge? Can you give an example of each type of knowledge?

Some Pure and Empirical Examples (to get you started):

In each of the pairs below, the first sentence is Pure Knowledge and the second is Empirical Knowledge.

Remember that Pure (a priori) knowledge does not need experience to know the statement is true. However, Empirical (a posteriori) statements have to be verified through the senses/experience in order to know whether they are true or false.

1 a. All bachelors are unmarried. b. Most bachelors in the U.S. wear colored or printed jockey shorts.

2a. All crows are birds. b. All crows are black.

3a. All vixens are female. b. All vixens are cunning.

4a. Green is a color. b. Grass is green.

5a. A cat is a feline. b. A cat is sleeping on the kitchen mat.

6a. If A is taller than B, and B is taller than C, then A is taller than C. b. Shaquille O’Neale is taller than Kobe Bryant, and Kobe Bryant is taller than Tony Parker. Therefore, Shaquille O’Neale is taller than Tony Parker.

7a. A house is an abode for living. b. A house with cracks in the foundation is unsafe.

8a. All rubies are red. b. Topaz is either blue, orange, yellow, or yellowish brown.

Notice that the second sentence in each pair would need to be verified (experienced) in some way to know if it is true or false. They can NOT be personal opinions (since “opinions” are not “knowledge). But you know the truth value of the first sentence in each pair automatically, because it is “pure” knowledge.

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