[SydPhil] Philosophy at Western Sydney, Seminar: Alberg

[PhilosophyatWesternSydney]

Philosophy at Western Sydney University
Research Seminar

Date and Time: Wednesday, 6 July, 2016. 3:30pm — 5:00pm
Location: Bankstown Campus, Building 3, Meeting Room 3.G.54


Paper
>From Dreams of a Spirit-Seer to The Critique of Pure Reason: Kant’s Changing Relations to Metaphysics

Speaker
Jeremiah Alberg, International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan

Abstract
In this presentation I will explore some of the implications of the changes Kant made in his use of imagery concerning metaphysics. In articles published last year I used R. Girard’s mimetic theory to explore some of the conceptual implications of Kant characterizing metaphysics as a “coquette” in Dreams of a Spirit-Seer (1766). In this writing Kant first defined metaphysics as “a science of the limits of human reason.” But Dreams left its readers confused. What followed was approximately 15 years (broken only by the imposed publication of the Dissertation) of struggle with the questions Kant had uncovered in Dreams. I think one step in understanding the First Critique is to take a careful look at the change in the images Kant uses when speaking of metaphysics. So I will summarize the results of my earlier research and use it as a basis for reflecting on this change in the front matter of the Critique of Pure Reason (1781/1787), there Kant refers to metaphysics claim to being the “Queen” of the sciences. In the First Critique Kant wants to explore the validity of this claim.
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