Kant on Proper Science

This book provides a novel treatment of Immanuel Kants views on proper natural science and biology. The status of biology in Kants system of science is often taken to be problematic. By analyzing Kants philosophy of biology in relation to his conception of proper science, the present book determines Kants views on the scientific status of biology. Combining a broad ideengeschichtlich approach with a detailed historical reconstruction of philosophical and scientific texts, the book establishes important interconnections between Kants philosophy of science, his views on biology, and his reception of late 18th century biological theories. It discusses Kants views on science and biology as articulated in his published writings and in the Opus postumum. The book shows that although biology is a non-mathematical science and the relation between biology and other natural sciences is not specified, Kant did allow for the possibility of providing scientific explanations in biology and assigned biology a specific domain of investigation.