Solomon Maimon : monism, skepticism, and mathematics / Meir Buzaglo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Buzaglo, Meir, 1959-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Maimon, Salomon, 1754-1800.

Maimon, Salomon.

Physical Description:

xiii, 168 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Pittsburgh, Pa. : University of Pittsburgh Press, [2002]

Summary:

The philosophy of Solomon Maimon (1753-1800) is usually considered an important link between Kant's transcendental philosophy and German idealism. Highly praised during his lifetime, over the past two centuries Maimon's genius has been poorly understood and often ignored. Meir Buzaglo offers a reconstruction of Maimon's philosophy, revealing that its true nature becomes apparent only when viewed in light of his philosophy of mathematics. This provides the key to understanding Maimon's solution to Kant's "quid juris" question concerning the connection between intuition and concept in mathematics. Maimon's original approach avoids dispensing with intuition (as in some versions of logicism and formalism) while reducing the reliance on intuition in its Kantian sense. As Buzaglo demonstrates, this led Maimon to question Kant's ultimate rejection of the possibility of metaphysics and, simultaneously, to suggest a unique type of skepticism.

Contents:

1. The Kantian Challenge 11

2. The Quid Juris Question 28

3. Maimon's Ladder 49

4. An Interlude: Polarization 77

5. Aesthetics: The Critique of Ideality 89

6. Reconstructing the Outside 104

7. Substance and Causality 118

Epilogue: Closing the Circle: Maimon and the Kabbala 133

Appendix Maimon and Modern Structuralism in Mathematics 139.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 159-162) and index.

ISBN:

0822941767

OCLC:

48383294