MAIN Research
IN MY MAIN RESEARCH, I FOCUS ON TRANSCENDENTAL PHILOSOPHY – THAT IS, ON EVERY PHILOSOPHICAL OUTLOOK THAT, IN THE SPIRIT OF KANT’S PHILOSOPHY, AIMS AT RECOGNIZING NECESSARY CONDITIONS OF THE POSSIBILITY OF REPRESENTATION OF REALITY, THAT ARE KNOWN A PRIORI.
MY CONCERN WITH TRANSCENDENTAL PHILOSOPHY IS BORN OUT OF A FASCINATION WITH THE PROBLEM OF THE POSSIBILITY OF METAPHYSICS, WHICH KANT FAMOUSLY ADDRESSED IN HIS CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON.
TRADITIONALLY, METAPHYSICS HAS BEEN CONCEIVED AS A SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION AIMED AT A PRIORI KNOWLEDGE OF THE NATURE AND STATUS OF REALITY. BUT CAN WE EVER ATTAIN SUCH KNOWLEDGE? AND, IF SO, UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS?
KANT BELIEVED WE COULD, PROVIDED THAT BY “REALITY” WE UNDERSTAND THE REALITY WE ARE GIVEN – REALITY AS IT IS EXPERIENCED FROM THE HUMAN POINT OF VIEW. INDEED, HE BELIEVED THAT SPACE AND TIME, AS NECESSARY FEATURES OF BOTH EMPIRICAL REALITY AND ITS REPRESENTATION, CAN BE KNOWN A PRIORI TO DEPEND UPON OUR MINDS. THIS IS KANT’S TRANSCENDENTAL IDEALISM.
HOWEVER, I AIM AT DISENTANGLING TRANSCENDENTAL PHILOSOPHY FROM TRANSCENDENTAL IDEALISM (IN ANY FORM), BY ARGUING THAT WE MAY KNOW A PRIORI THE NECESSARY CONDITIONS OF REPRESENTATION OF REALITY, WITHOUT THEREBY HAVING TO COMMIT TO THEIR METAPHYSICAL NATURE AND STATUS. AT THE SAME TIME, I ARGUE THAT, BY INVESTIGATING FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW THE NECESSARY CONDITIONS OF REPRESENTATION, WE MAY ATTAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF OURSELVES, WHICH NEED NOT BE (MIS)CONSTRUED IN METAPHYSICAL TERMS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, I BELIEVE, WITTGENSTEIN FIRST RECOGNIZED IN HIS TRACTATUS, BY ENGAGING WITH TRANSCENDENTAL IDEALISM – NOT, HOWEVER, TO VALIDATE IT, BUT RATHER TO MAKE IT IMPLODE RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES, LEAVING US WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOURCES OF METAPHYSICS, WHICH LIE DEEP WITHIN US.
MY CONCERN WITH TRANSCENDENTAL PHILOSOPHY IS BORN OUT OF A FASCINATION WITH THE PROBLEM OF THE POSSIBILITY OF METAPHYSICS, WHICH KANT FAMOUSLY ADDRESSED IN HIS CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON.
TRADITIONALLY, METAPHYSICS HAS BEEN CONCEIVED AS A SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION AIMED AT A PRIORI KNOWLEDGE OF THE NATURE AND STATUS OF REALITY. BUT CAN WE EVER ATTAIN SUCH KNOWLEDGE? AND, IF SO, UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS?
KANT BELIEVED WE COULD, PROVIDED THAT BY “REALITY” WE UNDERSTAND THE REALITY WE ARE GIVEN – REALITY AS IT IS EXPERIENCED FROM THE HUMAN POINT OF VIEW. INDEED, HE BELIEVED THAT SPACE AND TIME, AS NECESSARY FEATURES OF BOTH EMPIRICAL REALITY AND ITS REPRESENTATION, CAN BE KNOWN A PRIORI TO DEPEND UPON OUR MINDS. THIS IS KANT’S TRANSCENDENTAL IDEALISM.
HOWEVER, I AIM AT DISENTANGLING TRANSCENDENTAL PHILOSOPHY FROM TRANSCENDENTAL IDEALISM (IN ANY FORM), BY ARGUING THAT WE MAY KNOW A PRIORI THE NECESSARY CONDITIONS OF REPRESENTATION OF REALITY, WITHOUT THEREBY HAVING TO COMMIT TO THEIR METAPHYSICAL NATURE AND STATUS. AT THE SAME TIME, I ARGUE THAT, BY INVESTIGATING FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW THE NECESSARY CONDITIONS OF REPRESENTATION, WE MAY ATTAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF OURSELVES, WHICH NEED NOT BE (MIS)CONSTRUED IN METAPHYSICAL TERMS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, I BELIEVE, WITTGENSTEIN FIRST RECOGNIZED IN HIS TRACTATUS, BY ENGAGING WITH TRANSCENDENTAL IDEALISM – NOT, HOWEVER, TO VALIDATE IT, BUT RATHER TO MAKE IT IMPLODE RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES, LEAVING US WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOURCES OF METAPHYSICS, WHICH LIE DEEP WITHIN US.
Other research
ALONGSIDE MY MAIN RESEARCH, I HAVE WORKED, AND AM WORKING, ON A NUMBER OF OTHER TOPICS, INCLUDING ETHICS AND AESTHETICS, FALSEHOOD, THEORIES OF INTENTIONALITY, AND THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS. FOR MORE ON THIS, MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY PUBLICATIONS PAGE!