Fitting the Pieces Together
Humility does follow from Receptivity—given Irreducibility. For Leibniz, Reducibility is the mirror that allows relations to be taken as intrinsic properties, phenomena to be taken as monads: reducibility permits (confused) acquaintance of things in themselves, since through perceptual access to phenomenal relations, we gain access to intrinsic properties. When Kant denies reducibility, that mirror is broken: Receptivity says we have knowledge only of what affects us; Distinction says that what affects us are the relational, causal powers of substance; Irreducibility says that it is ‘not through its own intrinsic properties’ that substance affects us. Humility follows: ‘we have no insight whatsoever into the intrinsic nature of things’. Kant's commitment to Irreducibility persisted beyond early work, extending throughout his philosophical career.
Keywords: Humility, intrinsic properties, Irreducibility, Kant, Leibniz, mirror, monad, phenomena, Receptivity, things in themselves
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