Theme 1: Theory of Knowledge and Theory of Science (before)

1. In the preface to the second edition of "Critique of Pure Reason" (page B xvi) Kant says: "Thus far it has been assumed that all our cognition must conform to objects. On that presupposition, however, all our attempts to establish something about them a priori, by means of concepts through which our cognition would be expanded, have come to nothing. Let us, therefore, try to find out by experiment whether we shall not make better progress in the problems of metaphysics if we assume that objects must conform to our cognition." How are we to understand this?

Kant talks about a priori knowledge and a posteriori knowledge. A priori knowledge is said to be obtained through theories, more rational and called "the secure path of science". It is determining the object and its concept, which is theoretical, but also making the object actual and therefore a more practical perspective of it. A posteriori knowledge is based on experience with the object and obtained through empiricism, where already existing objects determine human cognition. According to Kant objects have to conform to our cognition, which is demonstrated in a priori knowledge, which is independent from experience.

As an example Kant talks about the Copernicus Theoreme where the common belief in celestial bodies traveling around the earth has been proved wrong by the fact, that the earth is moving around the sun. Although previous knowledge said that the sun is moving around the earth Copernicus refuted it by not limiting himself to previous knowledge,"thinking out of his box", and assuming the contrary that the galaxy is conforming to his cognition.

In my opinion it is important to combine both a priori knowledge and a posteriori knowledge and the relation between cognition and objects. Copernicus success with his a priori approach, conforming to his cognition, can be dedicated to his a posteriori knowledge, the knowledge he already had about the subject.

2. At the end of the discussion of the definition "Knowledge is perception", Socrates argues that we do not see and hear "with" the eyes and the ears, but "through" the eyes and the ears. How are we to understand this? And in what way is it correct to say that Socrates argument is directed towards what we in modern terms call "empiricism"?

Everybody perceives and experiences things in a different way, therefore things appear to each one different. Socrates talks about knowledge as a matter of perception and focuses on questioning the core concept of knowledge. That leads to the discussion of what the definition of knowledge is. Seeing and hearing "through" eyes and ears and not "with" means, that going with the preposition "with" we would only receive information. Our brain receives information that we see and hear "with" our eyes and ears. But the use of the word "through" says that we do not only receive information, but we experience and perceive the information captured through our eyes and ears. Knowledge is mostly what somebody has said once, so criticizing and questioning previous knowledge, studies and research has become more important. Everything can be seen in different perspectives and depending on the perspective there are different interpretations of different subjects. 

Empiricism says that knowledge comes only and primarily from sensory experience, what differs from Kant's way of defining knowledge. Plato says that knowledge is created from many factors. 

Nowadays empirical methods are based on Kant's theory of a priori knowledge and a posteriori knowledge. Forming a hypotheses using a priori assumptions created with our mind and verifying the hypotheses with the use of empirical research methods, using a posteriori cognition as starting basis, to measure experience and perception shows that there is no a posteriori knowledge without a priori knowledge and also the other way round. For creating knowledge we need to question existing knowledge, stop thinking too binary and start thinking outside our previous knowledge. 

However it is important to keep both theories of Kant and Plato in mind, because both have a strong influence on todays creating of knowledge.