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Section 37

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

Original German

§ 37.

Wir wollen diesen dem Anscheine nach gewagten Satz durch ein Beispiel erläutern, welches zeigen soll: daß Gesetze, die wir an Gegenständen der sinnlichen Anschauung entdecken, vornehmlich wenn sie als nothwendig erkannt worden, von uns selbst schon für solche gehalten werden, die der Verstand hinein gelegt, ob sie gleich den Naturgesetzen, die wir der Erfahrung zuschreiben, sonst in allen Stücken ähnlich sind.

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.

§ 37.

Let us illustrate this seemingly venturesome proposition through an example, which is to show that laws we discover in objects of sensible intuition, especially when they have been cognized as necessary, are already regarded by us as laws the understanding has placed there, although in all other respects they resemble the laws of nature that we attribute to experience.

Plain English translation

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

§ 37.

Let us clarify this seemingly bold proposition with an example. It will show that we ourselves already regard laws we discover in objects of sensible intuition, especially when we know them as necessary, as laws the understanding has put into those objects. This is so even though they are otherwise like the laws of nature we attribute to experience in every respect.

About this section

Section 37 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 44 of 72 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.

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