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Chapter 1 Empiricism and Dualisms
Author(s) -
WEBB SHEILA
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of philosophy of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.501
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9752
pISSN - 0309-8249
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9752.12530
Subject(s) - epistemology , empiricism , philosophy , dualism , object (grammar) , argument (complex analysis) , subject (documents) , reading (process) , mythology , copernican principle , chemistry , linguistics , biochemistry , theology , library science , computer science
In this, the first chapter of Interpreting Kant in Education , contrasting interpretations of some of Kant's central terms and insights are introduced. It is argued that some central assumptions about mind and world, rooted in traditional empiricist epistemology, have acted as obstacles in interpreting Kant. Discussion of John McDowell's work and Wilfred Sellars's Myth of the Given Argument helps to reveal conceptual inconsistencies in this mind‐independent approach to knowledge and the conceptual dualism it supports. McDowell draws on Kant's resources to show that, by thinking differently about mind and world, the perceived dualism is ‘exorcised’. This begins the process of introducing a different understanding of Kant's philosophy. In the chapters that follow, the unity of mind and world, of subject and object, is emphasised. Through the discussion of his terms, a more contemporary and valuable reading of Kant's Copernican view is gradually developed.