An inquiry into the disputable position of imagination in Kant's philosophy

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Felsefe Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2012

Öğrenci: MÜGE ATALA

Danışman: ELİF ÇIRAKMAN

Özet:

My thesis aims to delve into Immanuel Kant’s formulation of the faculty of imagination in his Critique of Pure Reason and Critique of the Power of Judgment. In relation to the First Critique, it specifically concerns the relation of the “mysterious” function of imagination to the object and its representation as one of the fundamental steps of the emergence or production of theoretical knowledge. As regards the Third Critique, it scrutinizes the relation of imagination to reflective, as opposed to determinative, judgment and seeks to specify its role in aesthetic appreciation and artistic creativity. The thesis first provides us with a background to Kant’s philosophy, delineating the specific issues at hand and briefly introducing important Kantian fundaments, along with imagination, by making use of secondary literature. It then views imagination as has been theorized throughout the history of philosophy up until the age of Enlightenment and examines Kant’s two Critiques with a focus on imagination. Thirdly, it evaluates the aspects of Kantian imagination through the works of scholars whose differing interpretations are compared and disputed. Taking mainly the discussions of the previous chapter into account, the conclusion chapter constitutes my own interpretation of the disputes and possible solutions related to the imagination within the broader frame of Kantian philosophy.