Reconstructing the Critique of Pure Reason: Kant's Misdiagnosis 1
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Hitoshi Nagai
Other : Philosopher, EthicistÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ alumni
Hitoshi Nagai
Other : Philosopher, EthicistÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ alumni
How do you distinguish yourself from among the many human beings? The identification of people other than oneself is usually done by facial features, or by fingerprints in the case of the police, and strictly speaking, by genes. That is, by physical and external characteristics. Then, in your own case, is it done by mental and internal characteristics? Kant seems to have thought so. However, suppose there are four people, A, B, C, and D: A is cold, sad, and remembering the past; B is hot, happy, and planning for next year; C is warm, absent-minded, and thinking of nothing; and D is cold, sharp, and thinking about a math problem. Based on such facts, would it be determined which one is you? That is impossible. Whichever one it is, if there is a guy who is actually feeling it, that guy is you. In identifying which one is yourself, no human attributes¡ªwhether external or internal¡ªare used at all. It is simply that the person who exists in the exceptional way of "actually feeling" is, in fact, you.
And the present is a special period in which, among the many human beings, there exists a human being who exists in such an exceptional way as "actually feeling." This is because such a guy did not exist in the past, and will soon cease to exist again. What that exceptional guy is, and why such a thing arose, is a complete mystery.
When the content directly felt in reality is not heat or cold, mood, or thought content, but memory, this "self" undergoes a major transformation, and that is where the main argument begins; however, there is not enough space here for that explanation. If you are interested, there is no choice but to read this book directly. This book is a head-on critique of Kant's major work, "Critique of Pure Reason." While many introductory books, commentaries, and research papers have been written about such classics, it is rare for a book to be written that criticizes it head-on. However, it is also a fact that when entering into a subject, it is easier to grasp the points by starting with something that argues against it head-on rather than starting with a flat commentary.
Hitoshi Nagai
Shunjusha
384 pages, 3,520 yen (tax included)
*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.