Abstract
Chapter 2 investigates Kant’s “analytic” method, its background in the analytic-synthetic methods of early modern science and philosophy, and the ways in which the Theory of the Heavens, the New Elucidation, and the Physical Monadology employed several variants of this method in order to bridge the discrepancies between Newtonianism and Wolffianism. His defence of the “analytic” method of metaphysics in the Prize Essay (1764) is of particular interest. There, Kant compares the “analytic” method of metaphysics to Newton’s inductive method. But to talk in a one-sided way of his “analytic” method neglects the fact that Kant did indeed insist on a two-step methodology, in analogy to the analytic and the synthetic part of Newton’s method of analysis and synthesis as explained by Newton in his Opticks, which itself traces back to ancient geometry (Pappus). In parallel to defending the use of this method in metaphysics, however, Kant also became increasingly aware of its limitations.
The true method of metaphysics is basically the same as that introduced by Newton into natural science and which has been of such benefit to it. (2:286)
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Notes
- 1.
“Die Handlung, wodurch ein gewisser Grad an Deutlichkeit in unserer Erkenntniss hervorgebracht wird, heisst die Zergliederung der Erkenntniss”; my translation.
- 2.
“Also werden die Gründe entweder den Folgen vorgesetzt, oder nachgesetzt. Jene ist die synthetische (methodus synthetica), diese aber die analytische Lehrart (methodus analytica)”; my translation.
- 3.
The literal translation of ‘ausführlich’ is ‘in extenso’. Here, however, Kant refers to a concept contained in his lectures on logic. The Cambridge translation (Walford and Meerbote 1992, 444, n. 14) refers to §16 of the Logic: “A completely distinct concept can be so […] either in regard to the totality of its coordinate marks or with respect to the totality of its subordinate marks. Extensively complete or sufficient distinctness of a concept consists in the total clarity of its coordinate marks, which is also called exhaustiveness” (9:99). See also the notes 2406–2408 on logic, which refer to §147 of G. F. Meier’s logic (14:349–350). The background is Leibniz’s account of a “complete concept” (see Appendix A.3.2), which Kant’s Prize Essay no longer maintained for metaphysical concepts.
- 4.
The literal translation of ‘zureichend’ is ‘sufficient’. The term ‘adequate’ suggests an implicit reference to Leibniz’s “adequate idea”, which is the complete concept in Leibniz’s sense (see Appendix A.3.2). Again, Kant refers to §147 of Meier’s logic and the subjects of his own logic (9:99), dealing with the adequacy conditions of philosophical concepts.
- 5.
The literal translation of ‘vornehmste’ is ‘most distinguished’.
- 6.
See Meier’s logic, §139 and §422 (Meier 1752, 16:340,16:786). In his lectures on logic, Kant repeatedly refers to both paragraphs of Meier’s logic textbook. In his comments to § 139, he emphasizes that concepts may not only be clarified by analysis, but also by synthesis, i.e., by arbitrarily combining clear conceptual marks. He distinguishes the procedures of making a concept clear and distinct (analysis) or making a clear and distinct concept (synthesis). See the early Blomberg logic (presumably 1771) (24:130–131), or the late Vienna logic (1796) (24:843 pp).
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Falkenburg, B. (2020). Kant’s Analytic Method. In: Kant’s Cosmology . European Studies in Philosophy of Science, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52290-2_2
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