The analogical use of schematism from the Critique of Pure Reason to the Opus postumum

Abstract

Kant’s philosophy is characterized by the notion of limit: he builds his system by establishing separations among faculties and domains of knowledge. These analytical distinctions between the intellectual “level” and the sensual are then followed by an attempt to bridge this gap for the sake of the unity of cognition. This requires an element within cognition that serves to establish relations between both levels, namely, a schema. This contribution directs attention to Kant’s analogical use of mediating procedures not only in the Critique of Pure Reason but also in the Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science and the Opus postumum. More specifically, this chapter focuses on the notion of transcendental schematism presented in the first Critique, stressing the role of time as mediating function between the intellectual and the sensible level. Then it considers the metaphysics of corporeal nature developed in the Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science through a procedure, which is analogous to schematism. Finally, it considers the drafts constituting the Opus postumum in which Kant hints at a schematism through the ether.