Section 21

27 of 72 sections in Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics by Immanuel Kant

Original German

§ 21.

Um nun also die Möglichkeit der Erfahrung, so fern sie auf reinen Verstandesbegriffen a priori beruht, darzulegen, müssen wir zuvor das, was zum Urtheilen überhaupt gehört, und die verschiedene Momente des Verstandes in denselben in einer vollständigen Tafel vorstellen; denn die reinen Verstandesbegriffe, die nichts weiter sind als Begriffe von Anschauungen überhaupt, so fern diese in Ansehung eines oder des andern dieser Momente zu Urtheilen an sich selbst, mithin nothwendig und allgemeingültig bestimmt sind, werden ihnen ganz genau parallel ausfallen. Hiedurch werden auch die Grundsätze a priori der Möglichkeit aller Erfahrung als einer objectiv gültigen empirischen Erkenntniß ganz genau bestimmt werden. Denn sie sind nichts anders als Sätze, welche alle Wahrnehmung (gemäß gewissen allgemeinen Bedingungen der Anschauung) unter jene reine Verstandesbegriffe subsumiren.

Logische Tafelder Urtheile.

	1.
	Der Quantität nach
	Allgemeine
	Besondere
	Einzelne
2.		3.
Der Qualität nach		Der Relation nach
Bejahende		Kategorische
Verneinende		Hypothetische
Unendliche		Disjunctive
	4.
	Der Modalität nach
	Problematische
	Assertorische
	Apodiktische.

Transscendentale Tafelder Verstandesbegriffe.

	1.
	Der Quantität nach
	Einheit (das Maß)
	Vielheit (die Größe)
	Allheit (das Ganze)
2.		3.
Der Qualität		Der Relation
Realität		Substanz
Negation		Ursache
Einschränkung		Gemeinschaft
	4.
	Der Modalität
	Möglichkeit
	Dasein
	Nothwendigkeit.

Reine physiologische Tafelallgemeiner Grundsätze der Naturwissenschaft.

	1.
	Axiomen
	der Anschauung
2.		3.
Anticipationen		Analogien
der Wahrnehmung		der Erfahrung
	4.
	Postulate
	des empirischen Denkens
	überhaupt.

Musean translation

Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the complete German of the Prolegomena (AA IV 253–383, all §§1–60 and the Appendix), for fidelity, the steps of Kant’s argument, clarity and structure.

§ 21.

To set forth the possibility of experience insofar as it rests on pure a priori concepts of the understanding, we must therefore first present in a complete table what belongs to judging in general, and the various moments of the understanding within it. For the pure concepts of the understanding will correspond to them in exact parallel: these are nothing more than concepts of intuitions in general, insofar as the intuitions are in themselves determined for judging with respect to one or another of these moments, and hence necessarily and with universal validity. This will also determine precisely the a priori principles of the possibility of all experience as objectively valid empirical cognition. For these are nothing other than propositions that subsume all perception, according to certain universal conditions of intuition, under those pure concepts of the understanding.

Logical Tableof Judgments.

	1.
	By Quantity
	Universal
	Particular
	Singular
2.		3.
By Quality		By Relation
Affirmative		Categorical
Negative		Hypothetical
Infinite		Disjunctive
	4.
	By Modality
	Problematic
	Assertoric
	Apodictic.

Transcendental Tableof the Concepts of the Understanding.

	1.
	By Quantity
	Unity (measure)
	Plurality (magnitude)
	Totality (the whole)
2.		3.
By Quality		By Relation
Reality		Substance
Negation		Cause
Limitation		Community
	4.
	By Modality
	Possibility
	Existence
	Necessity.

Pure Physiological Tableof Universal Principles of Natural Science.

	1.
	Axioms
	of Intuition
2.		3.
Anticipations		Analogies
of Perception		of Experience
	4.
	Postulates
	of Empirical Thinking
	in General.

Plain English translation

Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the same complete German text.

§ 21.

To show how experience is possible insofar as it rests on pure a priori concepts of the understanding, we must first present a complete table of what belongs to judging in general and of the understanding's different functions in it. The pure concepts of the understanding will correspond exactly to these functions. These concepts are nothing more than concepts of intuitions in general, insofar as the intuitions are themselves determined for judging in relation to one or another of these functions. They are therefore determined necessarily and with universal validity. This will also determine exactly the a priori principles that make all experience possible as objectively valid empirical cognition. For these principles are simply propositions that bring every perception, in accordance with certain universal conditions of intuition, under those pure concepts of the understanding.

Logical tableof judgments.

	1.
	By quantity
	Universal
	Particular
	Singular
2.		3.
By quality		By relation
Affirmative		Categorical
Negative		Hypothetical
Infinite		Disjunctive
	4.
	By modality
	Problematic
	Assertoric
	Apodictic.

Transcendental tableof concepts of the understanding.

	1.
	By quantity
	Unity (the measure)
	Plurality (the magnitude)
	Totality (the whole)
2.		3.
By quality		By relation
Reality		Substance
Negation		Cause
Limitation		Community
	4.
	By modality
	Possibility
	Existence
	Necessity.

Pure physiological tableof universal principles of natural science.

	1.
	Axioms
	of intuition
2.		3.
Anticipations		Analogies
of perception		of experience
	4.
	Postulates
	of empirical thinking
	in general.

About this section

Section 21 is part of Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics by Immanuel Kant. This page sets the German original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is section 27 of 72 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.

Open the work page for the full contents, every edition, and the download links, or go back to Explore to browse other complete works in the European tradition. The reader keeps your place when you are signed in and lets you compare the original with each translation, one edition at a time.

Download the complete work as JSON · Retex Markdown