Pure Synthesis and the Principle of the Synthetic Unity of Apperception

This publication is with permission of the rights owner (De Gruyter) freely accessible.Kant calls the Principle of the Synthetic Unity of Apperception (PSUA) the “highest point” to which we “must affix all use of the understanding, even the whole of logic and, after it, transcendental philosophy.” In this article, I offer an original interpretation of this “supreme principle.” My argument is twofold. First, I argue that the common identification of this principle with the “I think” or even the form of the I think misses the basis on which this principle is capable of grounding Kant’s transcendental deduction. It must be understood as a purely formal, transcendental principle. Second, I argue that this highest principle must be understood (in part) as a purely formal principle of pure synthesis in order for Kant’s account of the mind to lay valid claim to such spontaneity (the freedom of theoretical cognition operative through synthesis) without invoking the very dogmatic idealism that he critiques. The reduction of this principle to the real I think, or even to the Transcendental Unity of Apperception (TUA), undermines the basic distinction on which Kant’s deduction depends. I pay particular attention to important, recent arguments from Longuenesse (2017) on the TUA, Williams (2017) on the Original Unity of Apperception, Allison (2004) and Pollok (2017) on the status of a priori principles, and McLear (2015) on the claim that unity necessarily presupposes synthesis.Peer Reviewe

Challenges and Information Needs of Organic Growers and Retailers

Growth in consumer interest in organically grown foods has opened new market opportunities for producers and retailers. This in turn implies an increased need for information specific to organic production, processing, marketing, and retail as growers and retailers increase their activities in this market. This article describes a research effort in east-central Kansas to assess the information needs in the organic sector. Data are drawn from focus groups and individual interviews with growers and retailers of organic foods. Implications for research and Extension programs, especially in the central Plains states, are discussed

The Imagination in Reason: Reframing the Systematic Core of Idealism in Kant and Hegel

In this dissertation, I argue that the point of transition between Kant and the Idealists is most aptly identified and comprehended when we bring into view a careful understanding of Kant’s principle of the free lawfulness of the Imagination. I argue that for Hegel, it was this principle that constituted Kant’s “greatest service to philosophy.” I contend that we are right to agree with Hegel that this principle is fundamental to Kant’s critical Idealism and is an important theoretical principle in its own right. More than this, though, Hegel adopts, modifies, and expands this notion and thereby turns it into the bedrock of his own system program. In defense of this thesis, I show that Hegel employs Kant’s principle of the free lawfulness of the imagination explicitly and implicitly as the bedrock of the method of reason developed most clearly in The Science of Logic, Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences, as well as in his Berlin lectures on Aesthetics and Philosophy of Right. The result is that I defend a theoretical notion of reason in Hegel that brings him interpretively much closer to Kant’s critical Idealism than is typically held, and more originally still, I defend an interpretation of Kant that not only solves many of the interpretive challenges of the third Critique’s unity and significance but also shows that Kant’s critical philosophy is more suggestive of central developments in Hegel’s absolute idealism than many Kantians may be comfortable admitting

Highland Hunters: Prehistoric Resource Use In The Yukon-Tanana Uplands

Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2012The purpose of this study was to conduct a first approximation of explorations and excavations throughout the White Mountain and Steese Conservation areas during the summer field seasons of 2010 and 2011 in the Yukon Tanana Uplands. An analysis of the lithic artifacts from five site excavations (the Big Bend, Bachelor Creek, Bear Creek, US Creek and Cripple Creek) was then undertaken. These assemblages were then examined and modeled using risk-assessments, optimal resource use, and behavior processes in order to explore the interdependence of environment, ecology, and material culture that drove prehistoric subsistence cycles in this area. This archaeological research will supplement ethnographies to indicate patterns of change in landscape value, trade networks, and local economic strategies

Transition and Resilience in the Kansas Flint Hills

The tallgrass prairie has persisted in the Flint Hills of east-central Kansas for both biophysical and socioeconomic reasons, and has been one of the key elements in the development of the region. A population boom in the latter part of the 19th century and the subsequent increase in cattle in the 1860s-1870s were key factors in the transition of this landscape into a major cattle grazing region by the turn of the 20th century. At various points in the past 150 years, this social ecosystem has exhibited remarkable resilience in episodes of both drought and over-grazing. The resilience of the bluestem pastures had implications for stability in the rural economy. Yet, the land use regimes have undergone change since Euro-American arrival, thus the human signature on the land is by no means static. We approach the human-environment relationship as an ecological dialogue that includes both biophysical and social elements mutually shaping each other, and driven by human interests as much as biophysical factors. Current threats to the tallgrass prairie, including fragmentation and invasive species are discussed

Climate Change Challenges for Extension Educators: Technical Capacity and Cultural Attitudes

We surveyed Extension educators in the southern Great Plains about their attitudes and beliefs regarding climate change, their interactions with constituents surrounding climate change, and challenges they face in engaging constituents on the topic of climate change. Production-oriented and sociocultural challenges in meeting constituents\u27 information needs exist. Educators reported (a) lacking capacity for addressing climate change issues and (b) needing information, especially regarding drought and extreme or unseasonable weather events and related management practices. Educators also identified a need for more educational resources, including print materials and online decision aids. Implications are relevant to educators working beyond the study area and in any agricultural production system