Martin Schöneld
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195132182
- eISBN:
- 9780199786336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195132181.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter explores Kant’s professorial thesis, The Joint Use of Metaphysics and Geometry in Natural Philosophy, the First Example of Which Contains the Physical Monadology (1756). Section 1 ...
More
This chapter explores Kant’s professorial thesis, The Joint Use of Metaphysics and Geometry in Natural Philosophy, the First Example of Which Contains the Physical Monadology (1756). Section 1 describes Euler’s problem that Kant sets out to solve — How can indivisible, unextended points make up divisible and extended bodies? Section 2 discusses Kant’s dynamic solution: his conception of “activity spheres” as ultimate and energetic constituents of matter. Section 3 examines Kant’s argument for combining qualitative-conceptual and quantitative-empirical perspectives, and its role in the pre-critical project.Less
This chapter explores Kant’s professorial thesis, The Joint Use of Metaphysics and Geometry in Natural Philosophy, the First Example of Which Contains the Physical Monadology (1756). Section 1 describes Euler’s problem that Kant sets out to solve — How can indivisible, unextended points make up divisible and extended bodies? Section 2 discusses Kant’s dynamic solution: his conception of “activity spheres” as ultimate and energetic constituents of matter. Section 3 examines Kant’s argument for combining qualitative-conceptual and quantitative-empirical perspectives, and its role in the pre-critical project.
