Current Research Project

This project examines Immanuel Kant's Selbstsetzungslehre (SSL), or 'doctrine of self-positing', as set out in fascicle VII of his posthumously published Opus postumum. The main objective is to situate this doctrine within the broader framework of Kant's critical philosophy while arguing for fundamental continuity between his Critique of Pure Reason and the Opus postumum. The project is guided by four central interpretative questions: (i) What does Kant mean by 'positing'? (ii) What is the nature of the self in this context? (iii) What central philosophical problem is the SSL intended to address? (iv) How does Kant attempt to resolve this problem? Through a combination of historical, exegetical, and systematic methods, the project aims to reconstruct Kant's argument and evaluate its philosophical significance. By means of close textual analysis, it elucidates the relationship between Kant's late reflections on self-positing and his earlier conception of formal idealism and the structure of self-consciousness. Beyond historical interpretation, the project also examines how Kant's ideas on self-positing could inform contemporary debates in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science.