Dictionary Definition
prolegomena See prolegomenon
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Noun
prolegomena- Plural of prolegomenon An introduction at the start of a book, usually used in plural form.
Extensive Definition
- Prolegomenon (plural "prolegomena") refers to any critical introduction or essay at the start of a book.
Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics is one of
the shorter works by the German philosopher Immanuel
Kant. It was published in 1783, two years after the first
edition of his Critique
of Pure Reason.
Prolegomena contains an overview and defense of
the Critique‘s main conclusions, sometimes by arguments Kant had not used in
the Critique. Kant characterizes his more accessible approach here
as an "analytic"
one, as opposed to the Critique‘s "synthetic" examination of
successive faculties
of the mind and their principles.
The book is also intended as a polemic. Kant was disappointed
by the poor reception of the Critique of Pure Reason, and here he
repeatedly emphasizes the importance of its critical project for the very
existence of metaphysics as a science. The final appendix
contains a detailed rebuttal to an unfavorable review of the
Critique.
In the standard
Akademie edition of Kant's works, the Prolegomena takes up part
of Volume V.
External links
wikt Prolegomenon- Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics, English translation by James Fieser, based on Paul Carus's 1902 translation
prolegomena in German: Prolegomena zu einer
jeden künftigen Metaphysik, die als Wissenschaft wird auftreten
können
prolegomena in Spanish: Prolegómenos a toda
metafísica futura que pueda presentarse como ciencia
prolegomena in Macedonian: Пролегомена за секоја
идна метафизика која ќе може да настапи како наука
prolegomena in Finnish: Prolegomena
prolegomena in Japanese:
学として現れるであろうあらゆる将来の形而上学のためのプロレゴメナ