Choose one of the following paper topics.
1. Amo claimed that all representation is spontaneous, or reason governed, or conceptual. In the Transcendental Aesthetic, Kant attempts to prove that representations of Space and Time are not concepts, but forms of intuition. Why does Amo take all representation to be conceptual? What is one of Kant’s arguments that representations of Space and Time are not concepts? What, if any, reply can Amo make to Kant’s argument? Who do you think is right, and why?
2. Hume concludes that we cannot represent distinct objects as necessarily connected. Kant holds that we can. What is the of theory of mental representation that leads Hume to this conclusion? What is the theory of mental representation that Kant accepts in place of Hume’s? How would Hume object to that replacement? Who do you think is right, and why?
3. In Meditation 2, Descartes concludes that he is a thinking thing. In the Paralogisms, Kant raises and objection to Descartes’ argument. What is Descartes argument? What is Kant’s objection? How might Descartes reply to Kant? Who do you think is right, and why?
4. In the Transcendental Deduction, Kant argues that employing the Categories, including the concept of causation, is necessary for representing oneself as the single subject of experience persisting through time. Shepherd holds that the concept of causation is built into the concept of objects in general. Do Shepherd and Kant disagree, and why or why not? If they disagree, who do you think is right and why? If they agree, why doesn’t Shepherd discuss the subject of experience, and are they right?
