Conclusion
For Kant, the concept of things in themselves or noumena isnot a door through which we are able to exit from the phenomenal realm into the sphere of mind-independent reality. Rather, it is an epistemic, mind-imposed contrivance through which alone we are able to operate our conceptual scheme — a scheme in which objectivity and externality play a crucial role.
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Rescher, N. On the status of “things in themselves” in Kant. Synthese 47, 289–299 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01064348
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01064348