Section 42
Original German
§ 42.
Alle reine Verstandeserkenntnisse haben das an sich, daß sich ihre Begriffe in der Erfahrung geben und ihre Grundsätze durch Erfahrung bestätigen lassen; dagegen die transscendenten Vernunfterkenntnisse sich weder, was ihre Ideen betrifft, in der Erfahrung geben, noch ihre Sätze jemals durch Erfahrung bestätigen, noch widerlegen lassen; daher der dabei vielleicht einschleichende Irrthum durch nichts anders als reine Vernunft selbst aufgedeckt werden kann, welches aber sehr schwer ist, weil eben diese Vernunft vermittelst ihrer Ideen natürlicher Weise dialektisch wird, und dieser unvermeidliche Schein durch keine objective und dogmatische Untersuchungen der Sachen, sondern blos durch subjective der Vernunft selbst, als eines Quells der Ideen, in Schranken gehalten werden kann.
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.
§ 42.
All pure cognitions of the understanding have this characteristic: their concepts can be given in experience, and their principles confirmed by experience. Transcendent cognitions of reason, by contrast, can neither be given in experience as regards their ideas, nor can their propositions ever be confirmed or refuted by experience. Any error that may creep into them can therefore be exposed by nothing but pure reason itself. This, however, is very difficult, because precisely this reason becomes naturally dialectical through its ideas, and this unavoidable illusion can be kept within bounds not by any objective and dogmatic investigations of things, but only by subjective investigations of reason itself as a source of ideas.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the same complete German text.
§ 42.
All pure cognition of the understanding has this feature: its concepts can be given in experience, and its principles can be confirmed by experience. Transcendent cognition of reason is different. Its ideas cannot be given in experience, and experience can never confirm or refute its propositions. Any error that may slip in can therefore be exposed only by pure reason itself. But this is very difficult. Through its ideas, this very reason naturally becomes dialectical. This unavoidable illusion cannot be kept within bounds by any objective, dogmatic investigation of things. Only a subjective investigation of reason itself, as the source of ideas, can do that.
About this section
Section 42 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 50 of 72 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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