The Structure of Pure Reason
Description
This book explains how the idea of there being no ultimate, universal truth is in itself a contradictory philosophical position. Philosophers throughout history have tried to answer the question of what the deepest truth is about the world and our situation in it. They have put forward various philosophical systems, but none have won universal acceptance; and it is widely believed today that the time of philosophical systems is over. This book shows very concretely how to proceed in order to uncover the system of mutually defined basic concepts, which must be presupposed for any possible description of reality and any possible description of our situation as persons. Thus, in reigniting the discussion on philosophical systems, the author adds to the historical and contemporary discussions of Kant's structure of pure reason.
Reviews / Votes
"This book is a work of (pure) philosophy . . The book opens with three preliminary parts, a Foreword, a Translator's Foreword by Dines Bjørner, and the author's Preface. The main body of the work consists of seven quite substantial chapters, each with its subdivisions. All of this is completed by a brief Conclusion chapter. . this foreword providing considerable support and useful context for the reader" (Tim Denvir and Brian Monahan, Facs Facts - The Newsletter of the Formal Aspects of Computing Science Specialist Group, Issue (2), July 2025)
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Persons
Kai Sørlande r born 1944, studied philosophy at the University of Copenhagen and wrote a gold medal thesis on Wittgenstein's early philosophy. After that, Sørlander went his own way and developed an independent philosophical position, which Georg Henrik von Wright, Wittgenstein's successor as professor at Cambridge, has characterized as "post-Wittgensteinian Kantianism". This philosophy is primarily elaborated in the books The Inevitable (1994), The Ultimate Truth (2002) and Introduction to Philosophy (2017). In addition, Sørlander has also written several political-philosophical books, including On human rights (2000), Defense of rationality - religion and politics in a philosophical perspective (2008) and The political commitment - the philosophical foundation for democratic decision-making (2011). In addition, Sørlander has also written a large number of chronicles and articles.
Dines Bjorne r specializes in research into domain engineering, requirements engineering and formal methods. He worked on the Vienna Development Method (VDM) at IBM Laboratory Vienna (and elsewhere). Later he was involved with producing the RAISE (Rigorous Approach to Industrial Software Engineering) formal method with tool support. Bjørner was a professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) from 1965-1969 and 1976-2007, before he retired in March 2007. He was responsible for establishing the United Nations University International Institute for Software Technology (UNU-IIST), Macau, in 1992 and was its first director. His magnum opus on software engineering (three volumes) appeared in 2005/6.
Content
Preface.- Foreword.- Introduction: The task of philosophy.- Chapter 1. Philosophy and rationality.- Chapter 2. Kant and Hume on causality.- Chapter 3. What philosophy can learn from the special development of physics.- Chapter 4. The given system of sciences.- Chapter 5. The transcendental deduction of the conceptual conditions for any possible description of reality.- Chapter 6. Pure reason in ethics.- Chapter 7. Pure reason in politics.- Conclusion: The absolute truth.
