Kants system of the sciences

Physics and Biology

Abstract

In his main work, “Critique of Pure Reason”, Kant makes clear his intention to investigate not only the epistemological qualities of the human being, but also to lay the foundations of natural sciences. For him, this meant mainly physics and mathematics. His book “Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science” continues this project. In the prologue, both sciences are set apart from the others. Kant does this by classifying them both as the only sciences capable of carrying synthetic, necessary and a priori knowledge. Problems come up in “Critique of Judgment” and his chapter “Critique of Teleological Judgment”. Here, Kant tries to legitimize biology as a natural science without invading the field occupied by mathematical physics. The result is a biology that carries necessary knowledge but at the same time cannot supply us with the constituent laws of nature. This new natural science is irreconcilable with the system of natural sciences that Kant himself presents in his previous books.