Kant on the Acquisition of Geometrical Concepts

TY - JOUR

T1 - Kant on the Acquisition of Geometrical Concepts

AU - Callanan, John J.

PY - 2014/12

Y1 - 2014/12

N2 - It is often maintained that one insight of Kant's Critical philosophy is its recognition of the need to distinguish accounts of knowledge acquisition from knowledge justification. In particular, it is claimed that Kant held that the detailing of a concept's acquisition conditions is insufficient to determine its legitimacy. I argue that this is not the case at least with regard to geometrical concepts. Considered in the light of his pre-Critical writings on the mathematical method, construction in the Critique can be seen to be a form of concept acquisition, one that is related to the modal phenomenology of geometrical judgement.

AB - It is often maintained that one insight of Kant's Critical philosophy is its recognition of the need to distinguish accounts of knowledge acquisition from knowledge justification. In particular, it is claimed that Kant held that the detailing of a concept's acquisition conditions is insufficient to determine its legitimacy. I argue that this is not the case at least with regard to geometrical concepts. Considered in the light of his pre-Critical writings on the mathematical method, construction in the Critique can be seen to be a form of concept acquisition, one that is related to the modal phenomenology of geometrical judgement.

KW - Concepts

KW - Construction

KW - Geometry

KW - Kant

KW - Phenomenology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84926409829&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/00455091.2014.982746

DO - 10.1080/00455091.2014.982746

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84926409829

SN - 0045-5091

VL - 44

SP - 580

EP - 604

JO - CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY

JF - CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY

IS - 5-6

ER -