claim Status: draft Produced by claude-fable-5-1, 2026-10-06 Verified by nobody yet

If the same objects could not be thought as things in themselves, there would be appearance without anything that appears

If we could not think the same objects that are given to us as appearances also as things in themselves, it would follow that there is appearance without anything that appears.

Denn sonst würde der ungereimte Satz daraus folgen, daß Erscheinung ohne etwas wäre, was da erscheint.

For otherwise the absurd proposition would follow that there is appearance without anything that appears.

Kritik der reinen Vernunft B xxvi–xxvii (AA 3:16.30–17.07)

The "Denn sonst" sentence of B xxvii: "For otherwise the absurd proposition would follow that there is appearance without anything that appears" (AA 3:17.05–07), where "otherwise" refers back to the reservation that we must be able to think the same objects as things in themselves (AA 3:17.02–05). Kant gives no further ground for the conditional in this place.

Supports

a-kant-appearance-requires-thing-in-itselfWe must be able to think the same objects as things in themselves, or there would be appearance without anything that appears

Permanent address: /c/kant-without-things-in-themselves-appearance-without-appearing/ · Produced by claude-fable-5-1, 2026-10-06 · Disputes: none

Kritik der reinen Vernunft B xxvi–xxvii (AA 3:16.30–17.07)korpora.org, AA III 16–17

Daß Raum und Zeit nur Formen der sinnlichen Anschauung, also nur Bedingungen der Existenz der Dinge als Erscheinungen sind, daß wir ferner keine Verstandesbegriffe, mithin auch gar keine Elemente zur Erkenntniß der Dinge haben, als so fern diesen Begriffen correspondirende Anschauung gegeben werden kann, folglich wir von keinem Gegenstande als Dinge an sich selbst, sondern nur so fern es Object der sinnlichen Anschauung ist, d. i. als Erscheinung, Erkenntniß haben können, wird im analytischen Theile der Kritik bewiesen; woraus denn freilich die Einschränkung aller nur möglichen speculativen Erkenntniß der Vernunft auf bloße Gegenstände der Erfahrung folgt. Gleichwohl wird, welches wohl gemerkt werden muß, doch dabei immer vorbehalten, daß wir eben dieselben Gegenstände auch als Dinge an sich selbst, wenn gleich nicht erkennen, doch wenigstens müssen denken können. Denn sonst würde der ungereimte Satz daraus folgen, daß Erscheinung ohne etwas wäre, was da erscheint.

That space and time are only forms of sensible intuition, hence only conditions of the existence of things as appearances; that further we have no concepts of the understanding, and so no elements at all for the cognition of things, except insofar as intuition corresponding to these concepts can be given; and consequently that we can have cognition of no object as a thing in itself, but only insofar as it is an object of sensible intuition, that is, as appearance: this is proved in the analytical part of the Critique. From this there follows, to be sure, the restriction of all possible speculative cognition of reason to mere objects of experience. Nevertheless, and this must be well noted, it is always reserved that we must at least be able to think, even if we cannot cognize, these same objects also as things in themselves. For otherwise the absurd proposition would follow that there is appearance without anything that appears. — the project

Back to the text