Signaling Systems and the Transcendental Deduction
Arif Ahmed
Oxford Scholarship Online January 18, 2018 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198746973.003.0007 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Kant's claim that unity of consciousness entails objectivity of experience is a general truth about signaling systems, not one tied to imagination, thought, language, or 'categories.' Proposes that a signaling system's capacity to detect properties of objects follows from its exhibiting unity rather than being a mere bundle of specialized subsystems. |
Abstract
The central claim of Kant’s Transcendental Deduction is that unity of consciousness entails objectivity of experience. This chapter defends an interpretation of that claim that has nothing especially to do with imagination, thought, language, or ‘categories.’ It is a general truth about signaling systems. More specifically, there is a precise sense in which (i) a signaling system may detect properties of objects as opposed to merely reflecting how it is being affected by external reality taken as a lump. And there is a precise sense in which (ii) a signaling system may exhibit a unity as opposed to being equivalent to a mere bundle of more specialized signaling systems. The chapter argues that (i) is a consequence of (ii): any signaling system that exhibits unity in this sense has experience of objects in that one. That truth, and the argument for it, cast light on (a) Kant and (b) idealism.