Kant and the Metaphysics of Causality
Cambridge University Press, 12/20/2004
EAN 9780521835671, ISBN10: 0521835674
Hardcover, 464 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
This is a book about Kant's views on causality as understood in their proper historical context. Specifically, Eric Watkins argues that a grasp of Leibnizian and anti-Leibnizian thought in eighteenth-century Germany helps one to see how the critical Kant argued for causal principles that have both metaphysical and epistemological elements. On this reading Kant's model of causality does not consist of events, but rather of substances endowed with causal powers that are exercised according to their natures and circumstances. This innovative conception of Kant's view of causality casts a light on Kant's philosophical beliefs in general, such as his account of temporality, his explanation of the reconciliation of freedom and determinism, and his response to the skeptical arguments of Hume.
Introduction
Part I. Causality in Context
1. Pre-established harmony versus physical influx
2. Kant's pre-critical theory of causality
Part II. Causality in the Critical Period
3. Kant's second and third analogies of experience
4. Kant's model of causality
Part III. Causality and Consequences
5. The metaphysics of freedom
6. Kant's reply to Hume
historical and contemporary considerations.