What is “the thing in itself” (Ding an sich)?This term in philosophy refers to the existence of things in themselves, not in relation to their knowledge, that is, irrespective of how they are known. To understand what Kant was talking about, it is necessary to take into account that the concept of “things in themselves” has several meanings and includes two basic meanings. First of all, it is implied that objects of knowledge exist on their own, apart from logical and sensual forms, with the help of which they are perceived by our consciousness.
In this sense, “the thing in itself” according to Kant meansthat any expansion and deepening of knowledge is the knowledge of phenomena only, and not of the things themselves. This is due to the fact that it occurs in subjective forms of reason and sensuality. For this reason, Kant believes that even mathematics, which is an exact science, does not reflect objective reality; therefore, it is reliable only for us, because it is perceived with inherent in us a priori forms of reason and sensuality.
Knowledge according to Kant
What is the “thing in itself” for Kant?This is the time and space that underlie the accuracy of mathematics, arithmetic and geometry. These are not forms of the existence of things directly, but forms of our sensuality that do not require proof. At the same time, causality, substance and interaction are not objects of things, they are only a priori forms of our mind. The concept of science in principle does not copy the properties of objects, it belongs to the category of things imposed by the mind on "material." Kant believes that the properties discovered by science do not depend on the irregularity of each specific subject, but it cannot be said that laws learned by science are independent of consciousness.
Limited and unlimited knowledge of Kant
The ability to learn may be limited,and boundless. Kant says that empirical science has no limits for its further deepening and expansion. Observing and analyzing phenomena, we penetrate into the depths of nature, and it is not known how far we can go with time.
Nevertheless, science, according to Kant, may beand limited. In this case, it is meant that with any deepening and expansion of scientific knowledge can not go beyond the limits of logical forms, by which objective knowledge of reality occurs. That is, even if we are able to fully explore natural phenomena, we can never answer questions that are outside of nature.
Unknowable "things in themselves"
“The thing in itself” is, in fact, the same agnosticism.Kant assumed that in his teaching of a priori forms of reason and sensuality he managed to overcome the skepticism of Hume and ancient skeptics, but in reality his concept of objectivity is ambiguous and multivalued. What, according to Kant, is “objectivity,” is in fact completely reduced to universality and necessity, which is understood by him as a priori definitions of sensuality and reason. As a result, the same subject becomes the ultimate source of “objectivity”, and not the external world itself, which is reflected in abstractions of mental knowledge.
"The thing in itself" in philosophy
The meaning of the concept “things in itself” explained aboveKant applies only when trying to explain the possibility of accurate mathematical and natural science knowledge. But in justifying the idea of its philosophy and ethics, it acquires a slightly different meaning. So what is “the thing in itself” in Kant's philosophy? In this case, special objects of the intelligible world are meant - the freedom to define human actions, immortality, and God as the supernatural cause and truth of the world. The principles of Kant's ethics also boiled down to precisely this understanding of “things in themselves”.
The philosopher recognized that man is inherentineradicable evil and contradictions of public life, due to them. And at the same time he was convinced that in his heart a man longs for a harmonious state between moral frame of mind and behavior. And, according to Kant, this harmony can be achieved not in an empirical, but in a comprehensible world. In order to ensure a moral world order, Kant seeks to understand what a “thing in itself” is. He regards nature and its phenomena as a subject of scientific knowledge to the world of “phenomena”, and immortality, freedom, and God to the world of “things in themselves”.
Principal unknowability
As already noted, "the thing in itself" Kantproclaims the unknowable, and its unknowability is no longer temporary and relative, but principled, insurmountable by any philosophical knowledge and progress. God is such an unknowable "thing in itself." Its existence can neither be confirmed nor refuted. The existence of God is the postulate of the mind. Man acknowledges that God exists, based not on logical evidence, but on the categorical dictates of moral consciousness. It turns out that in this case Kant criticizes the mind in order to establish and strengthen faith. The restrictions that he applies to theoretical reason are those restrictions that should stop not only science, but also the practice of faith. Faith must be beyond these boundaries and become invulnerable.
Kant's form of idealism
To postpone the resolution of conflicts and contradictions- socio-historical and ethical - in an intelligible world, it was necessary to apply an idealistic interpretation of the main concepts of theoretical philosophy. Kant was an idealist in philosophy and ethics, but not because his theory of knowledge was idealistic. But rather, on the contrary, the theory was idealistic, because the philosophy of history and ethics turned out to be idealistic. The German reality of Kant's time completely denied the possibility of solving the real contradictions of the life of society in practice and the likelihood of adequately reflecting them in theoretical thought.
For this reason, Kant’s philosophical worldviewIt developed in the traditional course of idealism under the influence of Hume, on the one hand, and Leibniz and Wolff, on the other. The contradiction of these traditions and the attempt to analyze their interaction is reflected in Kant's teaching on the boundaries and forms of authentic knowledge.
