KANT

KANT

Kant was searching for a reliable FOUNDATION upon which to build a solid philosophy. He assumes that "the more permanent something is, the truer it is". Truth is something we can hold on to. It makes more sense to hold on to a rock than to a puff of smoke.

Stability is a criterion of truth.

Truth is absolute.

Truth is unchanging.

Truth is fixed.

Truth is permanent.

Truth simply 'is'. Truth is located in the realm of Being, never Becoming.


CONCEPTS are truer than PHYSICAL THINGS.

The abstract definition of a circle is more true than any physical sensory circle that exists in space-time whether it is in the shape of a full moon, a dish or the wheel of a bicycle.

Concepts are PRIOR TO physical things, hence more basic and foundational.


Truth is in the fixed FORMS of our mental structure.

Arguments can SOUND RIGHT even though their CONCEPTUAL CONTENTS can be false or silly or odd due to its LOGICAL SEQUENCES or LOGICAL FORMS.
eg X is Y, Every Y is Z, therefore X is Z.
The LOGICAL SEQUENCES in this example SOUND RIGHT for a reason that has nothing to do with the truth or falsity of it CONTENTS, or what is being asserted. If the premises happen to be true, then a true conclusion necessarily or automatically follows.


The foundation of philosophy rests upon the most elementary form "S is P" where S stands for the Subject or the thing referred to and P stands the the Predicate ascribed to the Subject.

Kant refer to S as 'intuitions' and to P as 'concepts'.