Book contents
- Kierkegaard and the Structure of Imagination
- Kierkegaard and the Structure of Imagination
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I The Origins of “Thought Experiment” in Kant and Ørsted
- Part II A Kantian Account of Thought Experiment
- Chapter 6 Varieties of Cognition
- Chapter 7 An Apparatus for Cognition
- Chapter 8 Cognizing Regulative Ideas
- Chapter 9 Bizarre Cases and Context
- Part III Kierkegaard and the Concept of Thought Experiment
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 7 - An Apparatus for Cognition
from Part II - A Kantian Account of Thought Experiment
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 September 2025
Book contents
- Kierkegaard and the Structure of Imagination
- Kierkegaard and the Structure of Imagination
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I The Origins of “Thought Experiment” in Kant and Ørsted
- Part II A Kantian Account of Thought Experiment
- Chapter 6 Varieties of Cognition
- Chapter 7 An Apparatus for Cognition
- Chapter 8 Cognizing Regulative Ideas
- Chapter 9 Bizarre Cases and Context
- Part III Kierkegaard and the Concept of Thought Experiment
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter explains why cognition (Erkenntnis) is its own kind of cognitive good, apart from questions of justification. I argue against reducing the work of thought experiments to their epistemological results, such as their potential to provide prima facie justification. As an apparatus for cognition, a thought experiment enacts the three core elements of Ørsted’s Kantian account: (1) it is a tool for variation; (2) it proceeds from concepts, and (3) its goal is the genuine activation or reactivation of mental processes. Cognition has two components: givenness and thought. I will show in this chapter how givenness and thought are both achieved through thought experiments.
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- Kierkegaard and the Structure of ImaginationRethinking Thought Experiments with Kant and Ørsted, pp. 107 - 118Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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