Friday, March 2
Post your answers to each of these study questions, which were circulated on Monday. I have set up discussion sites in Web-x (Mind and the World>Winter quarter>Study Questions on Kant>individual sites for each question). Treat these as short essay answers, post a few thoughtful, concise sentences in response to each question.

1. Kant insists that we have knowledge of synthetic a priori principles. What would be examples of such principles?  Why does Kant bring this up so early in his critique: why does it matter to him?
   
2. What’s wrong with using pure concepts of the understanding in thinking about things-in-themselves?  Can they be used in making judgments about things-in-themselves?
   
3. What does Kant understand nature to be?
   
4. Philosophers frequently offer conceptual distinctions, e.g.: Plato, between knowledge and opinion; Aristotle, between primary and secondary substance; Bacon between idol and true induction; Descartes, between formal and objective being; Leibniz, between apperception and perception…Give examples of critical distinctions drawn by Kant and state why they are important in his philosophy of mind.
   
5. Kant identifies himself as a “transcendental idealist.”  What other kinds of “idealism” are there and how do they differ from Kant’s position?