Sunday, September 11, 2016

Kant and Environmental Philosophy



working a paper at home.... trying to 'imagine' how Kant's epistemology could be able to link with the current debates in environmental philosophy. Kant, in his systematic intervention to the discussion on nature clearly demarcated the two ways of looking at reality, Noumena and Phenomena . In his three excellent academic works (a) Critique of Pure Reason (b) Critique of Practical Reason (c) Critique of Judgment Kant address three very important issues respectively, (a) Epistemology, (b) Ethics and (c) Aesthetic.
I still remembered the class I took from Prof Gunapala Dharmasiri on Kantian Epistemology at Peradeniya. 
Kant had emphasised the contributions made by subjects (human being) to what they know. For example , we see things around us being spatial relation to each other, but the space is in us, a form of sensibility that we impose on what we sense. (time is also a same type) Like wise, the understanding imposes fundamental conceptual structures on what we know. Kant called these categories of understanding (time/space and four categories, quality/quantity/modality and relations) . For Kant all our knowledge of ourselves and world ultimately depends on sense perception and understanding. 
(just to share this as morning note.... going to stay whole day at my study at home...)

1 comment:

  1. //For Kant all our knowledge of ourselves and world ultimately depends on sense perception and understanding. ///

    To get the benefit of this understanding peace is a MUST in whole world.

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