Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science explained

Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science
Title Orig:	Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der Naturwissenschaft
Author:	Immanuel Kant
Country:	Germany
Language:	German
Subject:	Philosophy
Published:	1786
Media Type:	Print

Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science (German: Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der Naturwissenschaft) is a 1786 book by the philosopher Immanuel Kant.

Summary

The book is divided into four chapters. The chapters are concerned with the metaphysical foundations of phoronomy (now called kinematics), dynamics, mechanics, and phenomenology.

Reception

Kant's book was a basic influence on the rise of science departments of the universities in the German-speaking countries in the nineteenth century.

Hans Christian Ørsted wrote "Differential and integral calculus consist of nothing but .. thought experiments and considerations of them. ... In his Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science, Kant has given us the most beautiful examples of this kind of presentation, without, however, drawing attention to it himself."^[1]

Kurt Gödel was influenced by Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der Naturwissenschaft. Gödel studied it while a member of the Vienna Circle.

Notes

1. Karen Jelved, Andrew D. Jackson, and Ole Knudsen, (1997) translators for Selected Scientific Works of Hans Christian Ørsted,, p. 296. Section 16 of Chapter 29, "First Introduction to General Physics: the Spirit, Meaning, and Goal of Natural Science". (Copenhagen 1811, in Danish, printed by Johan Frederik Schulz. In Kirstine Meyer's 1920 edition of Ørsted's works, pp. 151–190.) Reprinted (1836) Schweigger's Journal für Chemie und Physik 36, pp. 458–488.