Reason, finitude, and time : the social sciences and the problem of Kant

Parsons, Stephen David (1986) Reason, finitude, and time : the social sciences and the problem of Kant. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

The thesis is concerned with establishing that a problematic drawn from Kant underlies major debates current in the social sciences. This problematic remains unacknowledged and thus becomes displaced, breaking out at strategic points in apparently novel ways. The thesis establishes this displacement through examining a number of different authors and issues. Chapter One is concerned with issues in administrative studies, political economics, and economics. Main authors discussed are Wildavsky, Buchanan, Arrow, Hayek, Rawls, Nozick, von Mises, Shackle. Main subject areas are decision-making, Pareto optimality, justice, relationship between the state and the economy, economic equilibrium. Through probing the problem of uncertainty, concerns with reason, finitude, and time are brought to the fore. Chapter Two investigates in depth the theories of Jurgen Habermas. Commencing with Legitimation Crisis, the investigation situates Habermas with regard to the concerns explored in the first chapter before proceeding to investigate thoroughly his other works. Problems with the notion of `knowledge-constitutive interests', the theory of universal pragmatics, and consequently the possibility of grounding a critical theory are explored. This exploration allows the underlying problematic drawn from Kant to surface, in terms of the relationship between theoretical and practical reason: ultimately, temporality is displaced with activity. Chapter Three is concerned with the `archaeological theory' of Michel Foucault. Foucault claims to have encapsulated and overcome the `Age of Man', and thus any problematic drawn from Kant. This investigation of Foucault's theory reveals that Foucault misconstrues the problematic and consequently merely replicates it. The Fourth Chapter concentrates on Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. The exploration of the notion of `synthetic a priori' reveals the essential concern with time as orientating the investigations in the Critique. This chapter concentrates on the first edition of the Critique, up to and including the `Analogies', in order to reveal the essential problem of the relating of the categories to pure intuition (time). Interpretations offered by Strawson, Heidegger, Wilkerson, Bennett and others are criticised. The problem of relating theoretical and practical reason is revealed as a problem in relating freedom with time. The Conclusion briefly turns to the problem of relating theoretical and practical reason as conceived in the Critique of Judgement before turning to suggestions as to why the displaced problematic recurred throughout the various investigations. Indications as to possible areas for future research are made.

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