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Ideas for 'Thinking About Mathematics', 'New Essays on Human Understanding' and 'Critique of Pure Reason'

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4 ideas

13. Knowledge Criteria / D. Scepticism / 1. Scepticism
Kant thought he had refuted scepticism, but his critics say he is a sceptic, for rejecting reality [O'Grady on Kant]
     Full Idea: Kant believed he had given a decisive answer to traditional scepticism, since we can no longer be mistaken about objects, but his critics say he is a sceptic, because he relinquishes our grasp of independent things.
     From: comment on Immanuel Kant (Critique of Pure Reason [1781]) by Paul O'Grady - Relativism Ch.3
     A reaction: A simple issue to raise about the man, my first reaction being that he is a sceptic. He says the 'noumenon' (true reality) is unknowable, but I say we can meaningfully speculate and theorise about it.
Light takes time to reach us, so objects we see may now not exist [Leibniz]
     Full Idea: Since rays of light need time - however little - to reach us, it is possible that the object should be destroyed during the interval and no longer exist when the light reaches the eye.
     From: Gottfried Leibniz (New Essays on Human Understanding [1704], 2.09)
     A reaction: This is the well know 'time lag' argument. Leibniz is no sceptic, but he can hardly fail to accept the truth of this problem. It seems self-evident that stars we observe may no longer exist, although special relativity confuses that issue.
13. Knowledge Criteria / D. Scepticism / 6. Scepticism Critique
Scepticism is absurd in maths, where there are no hidden false assertions [Kant]
     Full Idea: The sceptical method would be absurd in mathematics, because nowhere in mathematics do false assertions disguise themselves and make themselves invisible.
     From: Immanuel Kant (Critique of Pure Reason [1781], B452/A424)
     A reaction: An interesting observation. The implication I take here is that scepticism in the realm of sensation is justified, precisely because errors and illusion do occur.
Scepticism is the euthanasia of pure reason [Kant]
     Full Idea: Reason is tempted to surrender itself to a sceptical hopelessness, which might also be called the euthanasia of pure reason.
     From: Immanuel Kant (Critique of Pure Reason [1781], B434/A407)
     A reaction: Colin McGinn's 'mysterian' pessimism about the mind-body problem comes to mind!