First Paper Topic

Philosophy 175

Spring, 2003

Due: May 5, 2003, in class

Write an essay of roughly 5 pages on the following topic.  Use the Critique and Prolegomena as the basis of your work.  You may use the course Web notes if you cite them by lecture title and section heading. Be sure to quote the text whenever you attribute a claim to Kant. Papers not turned in on the day due will be penalized progressively, with the penalties increasing each two working days overdue.  Papers should be double-spaced (3 lines per inch) with ample room in the margins for comments.

In the Preface to the second edition to the Critique, Kant proclaimed a "Copernican revolution" in philosophy.  Based on the material through the Transcendental Aesthetic in the Critique and First Part of the Prolegomena, explain what this revolution is all about.  What was the old approach to metaphysics? Why was a revolution needed in philosophy?  What was the nature of that revolution?  How did Kant argue for the correctness of its outcome?