Q&A: Kant's Theory of Knowledge in Light of Modern Physics:
Kant's Theory of Knowledge in Light of Modern Physics:
Question
Hello dear Rabbi Michi,
Do you think Kant's theory of knowledge has been refuted by modern physics?
If so, which parts of it?
I'm a bit worried when I study Kant's thought, especially regarding space and time, and it may be that I'm building a worldview that has become outdated.
Thank you very much for the investment in the blog (thank God there is a learned Torah scholar available to answer the public's questions).
Answer
As I recall, we dealt with something like this in the past, and there I wrote to you that the Kantian assumption regarding the transcendentality of space and time is refuted by modern physics (the fact is that it is not imposed on us a priori, but emerges from experiment). I don't know of anything beyond that.
Discussion on Answer
You can say anything; the question is why say it. What does it solve and why is it necessary? One doesn't make novel distinctions and innovations unless there is a need for them.
Personally I have a psychological interest in it; the question is whether this move (to go on thinking that space and time are categories of pure thought) is a possible move.
If you have a psychological interest in it—who am I to stand in your way? Be my guest. By the same token, I too have a strong psychological need to think that I am the fastest sprinter in the world, and there's no problem with thinking that way (what you see, that others run faster—it's just an optical illusion and your biases), except for the fact that there is absolutely no basis for it.
Are you asking whether there is a logical contradiction in it? Of course not. How could there be a logical contradiction here?! If you're asking whether it is reasonable—definitely not, simply because you have presented no real basis for it apart from your psychological interest. That can be dealt with in one of two ways: either adopt this baseless thesis in order to answer your needs, or take a pill that will calm them in some other way.
I don't have a psychotherapeutic interest in it, but rather a worldview interest—that man is the center of the world, to the point that even space and time are derivatives of his cognition.
If the matter does not stand up to criticism, then I won't adopt an erroneous worldview. The point is that I heard Bergson argued something like this, that time does not depend on physics. But, as stated, I am an ignoramus in philosophy and in physics, so I consult experts in the field.
I have nothing to say about that. There is no logical contradiction in it.
Kant has no theory of knowledge at all. He developed advanced methods in intellectual nonsense, such that any innocent person with basic logic will easily fall into his net.
Could it be that one can distinguish between time as it is expressed through matter, in which case the laws of relativity apply to it and with regard to that Kant's theory has been nullified, and "conscious time," time as it is in itself without reference to matter, in which case one could say that it is a pure category of thought and with regard to that Kant's theory does in fact hold?