Immanuel Kant And The Phenomenal And Noumena

1236 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What is freedom

Are we free? This is the question that has plagued us since the beginning of mankind. While many different answers have arisen, many more problems have cropped up. Immanuel Kant, famous German philosopher, is known for his outside the box thinking on the subject. Kant theorized that the world is separated into two realms: the phenomenal and noumenal. The phenomenal realm, according to Kant, includes all our experiences and appearances of the world as we know it, whereas the noumenal realm consists of noumena. The noumena, or Kant’s controversial ‘thing-in-itself’, are unknowable entities that exist outside of our experience and are not under the laws of determinism or time. The one specific noumena I will find interest in for the duration of this paper is the noumenal self.
Kant is often criticized for his indecisive view on the location of the noumena, such as Grabau mentions: “…the texts which refer to things in themselves as a separate world of objects are always in the A or first edition. The texts where this interpretation of the thing in itself is denied and where it is made a characteristic of our phenomenal experience are in either the B edition or in a text which is common to them both, indicating incidentally that Kant had this idea even in the first edition but badly stated it” (772). From this back and forth view of the noumena, Kant has divided his followers into two camps of people.
Noumenalists, as I will refer to them for the duration of the paper, understand the noumena and noumenal self to exist within the noumenal realm. Additionally, they hold the view that the noumenal self must exist outside of the phenomenal realm in order for us to obtain free-will. I am in the other camp and believe the noumena can exist...

... middle of paper ...

... deliberation/access to the noumenal self was determined. Brandon could not choose to not have noumenal deliberation at that present time. It was, simply put, determined that Brandon have a noumenal deliberation. I think this is hardly the sort of association Noumenalists want in the noumenal realm. Any sense of determination, even so small as this, seems to be a problem for the Noumenalists.
Another issue Noumenalists need to consider is consciousness. If the noumenal self is a timeless entity, how do we come to have consciousness of it after birth, and where does that consciousness of it go after we die? Of course, the noumenal self being a noumena, we can’t exactly have any practical knowledge about it, but our intuition would seem to supply some sort of problem for the Noumenalists. A Noumenalist might say that we only experience our noumenal self while alive

Show More
Related

  • Comparing and Contrasting Nietzsche’s Preparatory Human Being and Kierkegaard’s Knight of Faith

    1475 Words  | 3 Pages

    Take a minute to relax. Enjoy the lightness, or surprising heaviness, of the paper, the crispness of the ink, and the regularity of the type. There are over four pages in this stack, brimming with the answer to some question, proposed about subjects that are necessarily personal in nature. All of philosophy is personal, but some philosophers may deny this. Discussed here are philosophers that would not be that silly. Two proto-existentialists, Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, were keen observers of humanity, and yet their conclusions were different enough to seem contradictory. Discussed here will be Nietzsche’s “preparatory human being” and Kierkegaard’s “knight of faith”. Both are archetypal human beings that exist in accordance to their respective philosopher’s values, and as such, each serve different functions and have different qualities. Both serve the same purpose, though. The free spirit and the knight of faith are both human beings that brace themselves against the implosion of the god concept in western society.

    Read More

  • The All-Powerful Mind: An Overview of Subjective and Objective Idealism

    1983 Words  | 4 Pages

    This paper will examine the reliability of George Berkeley’s metaphysical theory of Idealism. Berkeley’s Idealism holds that reality is made real by what the mind perceives and that what we perceive to be material is really a collection of immaterial sensations. Idealism is defined as the view “that only mental entities exist, so physical things exist only in the sense that they are perceived” (“Idealism”). Berkeley’s argument of Subjective Idealism is the view that reality consists of one’s mind and its ideas, while Objective Idealism says in addition, a supreme mind produces ideas in the physical world that do not depend on human minds to exist (Velasquez 146). Without Objective Idealism, one can undergo solipsism which is the belief that only one’s self and experiences of the world are real and everything else does not exist (“Solipsism”). Opposing Idealism is the metaphysical view of Materialism which holds that only physical things exist (“Materialism”). This paper will start by examining George Berkeley’s views of Subjective and Objective Idealism and how they apply to reality. Then, the critiques made and supported by Aristotle and Thomas Hobbes against both views of Idealism will be argued. However, these arguments fail to properly examine Berkeley’s Idealism, thus causing the critiques to be based upon misinformation. Although the criticisms pose potential flaws, Berkeley’s Idealism continues to be a major discussion in the metaphysical debate.

    Read More

  • Wallace Stevens and Emile Durkheim

    1484 Words  | 3 Pages

    Men know well that they are acted upon, but they do not know by whom. So they must invent by themselves the idea of these powers with which they feel themselves in connection, and from that, we are able to catch a glimpse of the way by which they are led to represent them under forms that are really foreign to their nature and to transfigure them by thought. (172)

    Read More

  • Immanuel Kant's Philosophy Essay

    1794 Words  | 4 Pages

    Philosophy is one’s oxygen. Its ubiquitous presence is continuously breathed in and vital to survival, yet its existence often goes unnoticed or is completely forgotten. Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant was one of the many trees depositing this indispensable system of beliefs into the air. Philosophy is present in all aspects of society, no matter how prominent it may be. As Kant was a product of the Scientific Revolution in Europe, the use of reason was an underlying component in the entirety of his ideas. One of his main principles was that most human knowledge is derived from experience, but one also may rely on instinct to know about something before experiencing it. He also stated that an action is considered moral based on the motive behind it, not the action itself. Kant strongly believed that reason should dictate goodness and badness (McKay, 537). His philosophies are just as present in works of fiction as they are in reality. This is exemplified by Lord of the Flies, a fiction novel written by William Golding. The novel strongly focuses on the origins of evil, as well as ethics, specifically man’s treatment of animals and those around him. Kant’s philosophy is embedded in the thoughts and actions of Piggy, Ralph, Jack, and Simon throughout the novel. Kant’s beliefs also slither into “Snake,” a poem by D.H. Lawrence, focusing on the tainting of the pure human mind by societal pressures and injustices. Overall, both the poet in “Snake” and Piggy, Ralph, Jack, and Simon in Lord of the Flies showcase Immanuel Kant’s theories on ethics, reasoning, and nature.

    Read More

  • Identity, Intersubjectivity and Communicative Action

    4204 Words  | 9 Pages

    Accepting that we cannot establish the "objectivity" of our experiences' content, Kant nevertheless attempts to resist a slide into relativism by insisting that they are mediated by rationally delineated categories which supposedly insure the transcendental or universal nature of their form, thereby providing an absolute standard against which we might check the veridicality of our descriptions of, and communications concerning, them. However as a priori preconditions of the possibility of experience such categories are obviously inexperienceable in themselves, and consequently must also fall to the phenomenological reduction. (3) Nevertheless, a moments reflection will confirm that our experiences do indeed exhibit structure or form, and that we are able, even from within, or wholly upon the basis of, the (phenomenologically reduced) realm of, our experiences per se, to distinguish between the flux of constantly changing and interrupted subjective appearances, and the relatively unchanging and continuously existing objects constituted therein. Husserl confirms:

    Read More

  • Kant's Second Analogy

    4263 Words  | 9 Pages

    In the Second Analogy, Kant argues that we must presuppose, a priori, that each event is determined to occur by some preceding event in accordance with a causal law. Although there have been numerous interpretations of this argument, we have not been able to show that it is valid. In this paper, I develop my own interpretation of this argument. I borrow an insight offered by Robert Paul Wolff. In Kant's argument, our need to presuppose that the causal determination of each event rests not upon our need to impose a 'necessary' and 'irreversible' temporal order upon representations of the states of an object, as Kant is usually interpreted, but upon our need to generate a comprehensive representation that includes a certain a priori conception of events in the world around us. Although the argument I attribute to Kant is valid, it cannot compel the Humean skeptic to accept the necessity of presupposing the causal determination of each event: Kant has not successfully responded to Hume in the Second Analogy.

    Read More

  • Physiognomy: The Sense Of Self, Identity, And Identity

    3267 Words  | 7 Pages

    However, despite all of the analysis and vast literature on the topic of selfhood there are still no completely agreed upon definitions of the self. Several scholars argue that it can never be given one simple, consistent description. The majority of authors are inclined to avoid the ‘unanswerable’ question of what self is and their constructions are based more on implicit understandings than clear-cut descriptions. As with the idea of consciousness, the self is catalogued amid those notions that are

    Read More

  • Jean-Paul Sartre and Radical Freedom

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jean-Paul Sartre claims that there can be no human nature, or essence, without a God to conceive of it. This claim leads Sartre to formulate the idea of radical freedom, which is the idea that man exists before he can be defined by any concept and is afterwards solely defined by his choices. Sartre presupposes this radical freedom as a fact but fails to address what is necessary to possess the type of freedom which would allow man to define himself. If it can be established that this freedom and the ability to make choices is contingent upon something else, then freedom cannot be the starting point from which man defines himself. This leaves open the possibility of an essence that is not necessarily dependent upon a God to conceive it. Several inconsistencies in Sartre’s philosophy undermine the plausibility of his concept of human nature. The type of freedom essential for the ability to define oneself is in fact contingent upon something else. It is contingent upon community, and the capacity for empathy, autonomy, rationality, and responsibility.

    Read More

  • Jean-Paul Sartre’s Philosophy: Radical Freedom and Responsibility

    1238 Words  | 3 Pages

    “We are left alone, without excuse. This is what I mean when I say that man is condemned to be free” (Sartre 32). Radical freedom and responsibility is the central notion of Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy. However, Sartre himself raises objections about his philosophy, but he overcomes these obvious objections. In this paper I will argue that man creates their own essence through their choices and that our values and choices are important because they allow man to be free and create their own existence. I will first do this by explaining Jean-Paul Sartre’s quote, then by thoroughly stating Sartre’s theory, and then by opposing objections raised against Sartre’s theory.

    Read More

  • Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason

    1389 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nd this is the result of the unity of synthesis of imagination and apperception. The unity of apperception which is found in all the knowledge is defined by Kant as affinity because it is the objective ground of knowledge. Furthermore, all things with affinity are associable and they would not be if it was not for imagination because imagination makes synthesis possible. It is only when I assign all perceptions to my apperception that I can be conscious of the knowledge of those perceptions. This understanding of the objects, also known as Faculty of Rules, relies on the sense of self and is thus, the source of the laws of nature.

    Read More

  • Rawls And The Principles Of Justice

    2175 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...uld be in Nozick’s framework (Rawls, 76). For Rawls, the purpose of society is to minimize disagreement and generate a cooperative social order that benefits the least well off. He continues on to argue that under Nozick’s framework it would compel individuals to join societies, making it unfair to individuals. For Rawl’s the Nozickian framework is naïve, blissfully assuming that individuals will be inclined to peacefully coexist if they are given opportunity to pursue their own life projects.

    Read More

  • Case Study Of Kant's Deontology

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over the course of this essay, I will present the reader with information on Kant’s Deontology, including, but not limited to, explaining how Immanuel Kant discerns what is morally right and morally wrong. I will then apply these criterion to case number two, and attempt to accurately portray what Kant’s Deontology dictates is the morally correct response. Following this determination, I will show the reader that although Kant’s moral reasoning will lead us to a definitive answer, we should not be so quick to accept it. Interestingly enough, he seems to lead us to what would generally be the correct answer, but perhaps not in the given circumstance and not for the right reason.

    Read More

  • Kant and Deontological Theory

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    Immanuel Kant was a moral philosopher. His theory, better known as deontological theory, holds that intent, reason, rationality, and good will are motivating factors in the ethical decision making process. The purpose of this paper is to describe and explain major elements of his theory, its essential points, how it is used in the decision making process, and how it intersects with the teams values.

    Read More

  • Kant: Metaphysical Exposition of Space

    2558 Words  | 6 Pages

    Explain and asses what you think to be the best argument Kant gives as his “Metaphysical Exposition of Space” (B37-40) that space cannot be either and actual entity (Newtonian concept) or any independent relation among real things (Leibnizian concepti be on). In other words, is he successful in arguing that space must be (at least) a form of intuition? Do any of his arguments further show that space must be ONLY a form of intuition and not ALSO something Newtonian or Leibnizian?

    Read More

  • Rationalism In Immanuel Kant's Epistemology

    1585 Words  | 4 Pages

    With the idea of synthetic a priori knowledge as the springboard, Kant develops his critical philosophy, rejecting his own direct realism as well as Hume’s more radical Empiricist views (Seung, 2011). The Critique of Pure Reason (1778) is Kant’s seminal epistemological work, in which he outlines his “grand theory of perception,” which he termed transcendental (Seung, 2011, pp. 1). Kant’s transcendental philosophy provided a new way of understanding knowledge, and expanded our ideas of what we can know, how we know, and the limits to what we can

    Read More

More about Immanuel Kant And The Phenomenal And Noumena

Open Document