Abstract

In Kant’s philosophy pure sensible knowledge and pure rational knowledge are regarded as heterogeneous domains. At closer consideration, however, a structural analogy between these two types of knowledge can be discovered: in both cases, the representation of the whole takes precedence over the representation of the parts. This is manifest in Kant’s claim that the epistemic function of limitation is decisive for both domains. It can be shown, furthermore, that in both cases the acts of limitation are the work of the power of imagination and hence originate from one and the same source. The power of imagination thus grounds a structural affi nity (Verwandtschaft) between pure sensible knowledge and pure rational knowledge.