Abstract

This work is a study of all the antinomies in Kant's philosophy. In the Introduction, I explore the motivations behind Kant's writing of the Critique of Pure Reason. There are several answers which might be put forth to the question: What major problem led Kant to write this work? The antinomies, I argue, are a large part of the answer. ;Another purpose of this work is to explain how antinomies arise in reason. They arise, in general, from a confusion between things as they appear and things in themselves. An examination of Kant's works reveals that antinomies occur not only in the three critiques, but in other of his writings as well. Each of these antinomies is examined, and a characterization of a Kantian antinomy is arrived at. ;This work also resolves a problem which arises between two solutions to two antinomies--the fourth antinomy of pure reason in the first critique and the teleological antinomy in the third critique. There is an inconsistency here which I discuss in detail. ;Also in this essay is an explanation of some of the more obscure terms in Kant's first and third critiques. Such terms include: intellectual intuition, intuitive understanding, supersensible understanding, supersensible substrate of nature and necessary being. ;In Chapter 5, I argue that there is an intimate connection between the problem of synthetic a priori propositions and the antinomies. Kant asserts this connection in one of his letters, and I make it explicit. It is shown that the problem of the possibility of synthetic a priori propositions cannot be solved completely without reference to the resolutions to the antinomies of pure reason and vice versa. I also show that all antinomies play a positive and negative role in Kant's philosophy. ;The final chapter deals with some critical questions. Overall, this work shows that the antinomies play a significant role in Kant's philosophy and that they are intimately connected to the thesis of the possibility of synthetic a priori propositions, and for these reasons they are indispensable to any complete study of Kant's philosophy