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Intellectualism, Relational Properties and the Divine Mind in Kant's Pre-Critical Philosophy

Insole, Christopher

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Abstract

I demonstrate that the pre-Critical Kant is essentialist and intellectualist about the relational properties of substances. That is to say, God can choose whether or not to create a substance, and whether or not to connect this substance with other substances, so as to create a world: but God cannot choose what the nature of the relational properties is, once the substance is created and connected. The divine will is constrained by the essences of substances. Nonetheless, Kant considers that essences depend upon God, in that they depend upon the divine intellect. I conclude by gesturing towards some possible implications of this interpretation, when considering the role that might be played by God – both historically and conceptually – in relation to the notion of ‘laws of nature’, and when understanding Kant's transcendental idealism and his Critical conception of freedom.

Citation

Insole, C. (2011). Intellectualism, Relational Properties and the Divine Mind in Kant's Pre-Critical Philosophy. Kantian Review, 16(3), 399-427. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1369415411000203

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Sep 1, 2011
Deposit Date Aug 30, 2011
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Kantian Review
Print ISSN 1369-4154
Electronic ISSN 2044-2394
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 16
Issue 3
Pages 399-427
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/s1369415411000203

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