Willem McLoud
UCT, Philosophy, Alumnus
In this monograph, I develop 1) a new interpretation of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, 2) an interpretation of Kant's philosophy of science in his Critique of the Power of Judgment that is consistent with 1) and 3) a new Kantian... more
In this monograph, I develop 1) a new interpretation of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, 2) an interpretation of Kant's philosophy of science in his Critique of the Power of Judgment that is consistent with 1) and 3) a new Kantian interpretation of quantum physics. These interpretations are not independent of each other – together they constitute a consistent interpretation of the First and Third Critiques (and the Critique of Practical Reason, although that is not included in the discussion) that is also consistent with contemporary science. In general, my interpretation of Kant's Critical metaphysics is consistent with special and general relativity as well as quantum physics (quantum field theory and quantum mechanics).
In the first part, I present a weak ontological reading of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason in which I argue that the most viable interpretation of the noumenal realm in this Critique (and also in his Critical philosophy in general) is to understand it as a realm outside Kant's conception of nature (systemic nature governed by mechanism), regulated by the transcendental principle of freedom (as an absolute spontaneous, albeit, effective causality). In this manner this principle of freedom does not merely become logically possible; it becomes conceivable as something that could really exist if the world is perceived in accordance with Kant’s Critical metaphysics.
In the second part, I present a new reading of Kant's philosophy of science in the Critique of the Power of Judgment. I show that Kant's conception of the noumenal realm, now called the supersensible realm, is essential to the concepts that he develops in this part of his philosophy of science. As such this realm should not be ignored; it actually gives a certain advantage to Kant's conceptual framework in the context of the current scientific debate. I argue that Kant argues that at least some products of nature may conceivably be produced non-mechanistically if a supersensible realm, as well as a different kind of effective causality, exist. Such a causality would involve a potentiality that non-extended wholes-and-parts (in the supersensible realm) have to produce material parts and aggregated wholes in nature. As such this causality builds upon the transcendental idea of freedom introduced in the First Critique.
In the third part, I present a new interpretation of quantum physics in accordance with my weak ontological reading of Kant's philosophy of science in the Critique of the Power of Judgement. In this interpretation, the pre-measurement quantum and classical ‘worlds’ are regarded as two distinct modes of existence, which respectively ground two heterogeneous kinds of effective causality, namely deterministic causality and spontaneous causality, which is taken as manifest in the reduction of the wave packet. In the Third Critique this last kind of causality is conceptualized as a spontaneous potentiality that allows non-extended wholes-and-parts (now taken as superpositions of states) to produce material parts and aggregated wholes (now taken as observable outcomes) in nature. I relate this spontaneous potentiality to the Bohm potential. A solution to the well-known measurement problem is developed and some features in quantum mechanics, for example non-separability and non-locality, are discussed in this context.
In the first part, I present a weak ontological reading of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason in which I argue that the most viable interpretation of the noumenal realm in this Critique (and also in his Critical philosophy in general) is to understand it as a realm outside Kant's conception of nature (systemic nature governed by mechanism), regulated by the transcendental principle of freedom (as an absolute spontaneous, albeit, effective causality). In this manner this principle of freedom does not merely become logically possible; it becomes conceivable as something that could really exist if the world is perceived in accordance with Kant’s Critical metaphysics.
In the second part, I present a new reading of Kant's philosophy of science in the Critique of the Power of Judgment. I show that Kant's conception of the noumenal realm, now called the supersensible realm, is essential to the concepts that he develops in this part of his philosophy of science. As such this realm should not be ignored; it actually gives a certain advantage to Kant's conceptual framework in the context of the current scientific debate. I argue that Kant argues that at least some products of nature may conceivably be produced non-mechanistically if a supersensible realm, as well as a different kind of effective causality, exist. Such a causality would involve a potentiality that non-extended wholes-and-parts (in the supersensible realm) have to produce material parts and aggregated wholes in nature. As such this causality builds upon the transcendental idea of freedom introduced in the First Critique.
In the third part, I present a new interpretation of quantum physics in accordance with my weak ontological reading of Kant's philosophy of science in the Critique of the Power of Judgement. In this interpretation, the pre-measurement quantum and classical ‘worlds’ are regarded as two distinct modes of existence, which respectively ground two heterogeneous kinds of effective causality, namely deterministic causality and spontaneous causality, which is taken as manifest in the reduction of the wave packet. In the Third Critique this last kind of causality is conceptualized as a spontaneous potentiality that allows non-extended wholes-and-parts (now taken as superpositions of states) to produce material parts and aggregated wholes (now taken as observable outcomes) in nature. I relate this spontaneous potentiality to the Bohm potential. A solution to the well-known measurement problem is developed and some features in quantum mechanics, for example non-separability and non-locality, are discussed in this context.
