Freiburg 2008 – scientific programme

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AKPhil: Arbeitskreis Philosophie der Physik

AKPhil 3: Raum-Zeit-Theorien II

AKPhil 3.2: Talk

Monday, March 3, 2008, 18:00–18:30, KGI-HS 1015

Is space a priori or derived from experience? A neo-transcendental account — •Manuel Bächtold — Institut für Philosophie, TU Dortmund

My aim is to reconcile two prima facie opposite views: (1) objects of perception cannot be represented as being in separate places without assuming a priori the representation of space (Kant's view), and (2) our representation of space has been derived from our experiences (empiricist view). On the basis of philosophical and physical considerations, I will first object to Kant's view that none of the alleged a priori features of space (i.e. exteriority, continuity, infinity, homogeneity, three-dimensionality and Euclidian structure) are absolutely a priori. In the line of Cassirer's neo-transcendentalism, I will then argue that the structure of space is determined a posteriori by our experiences, and that nonetheless assuming space, with a certain (empirically determined) structure, is a relative a priori condition for various human activities (that means, the a priori representation of space can differ from one activity to another).