Elastic force in Kant’s early works

• Howard, Stephen ^[1]
  1. [1] KU Leuven

     KU Leuven

     Arrondissement Leuven, Bélgica

     
• Localización: Revista de Estudios Kantianos: Publicación internacional de la Sociedad de Estudios Kantianos en Lengua Española, ISSN-e 2445-0669, Vol. 3, Nº. 2, 2018 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Revista de Estudios Kantianos. Vol.3, Núm. 2 (2018)), págs. 190-207
• Idioma: español
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• Resumen

  • This paper argues that the notion of elastic force is an important and overlooked thread running through a number of Kant’s writings from 1754 to 1764. After presenting the historical context, I argue that the key aspects of Kant’s early understanding of physical elasticity can be found in On Fire (1755), and show how Kant attempts to explain a wide range of phenomena through elasticity. On my account, one aim of his account of physical monads is provide metaphysical grounds for elastic phenomena. Finally, I examine Kant’s hints that minds can be understood through an analogy with elastic physical phenomena.