RATIOCINATION AS THE FUNDAMENT FOR PARADIGM SHIFT: THE EXAMPLE OF IMMANUEL KANT.

Abstract

This paper attempts to demonstrate that Kant’s notion of “noumenon” as the “thing in itself”, is capable of being misconstrued if approached from its etymological Greek understanding - “to think”. Kant used the term noumenon (thing-in-itself) to differentiate from phenomenon (thing-as-it-appears-to-us) in an effort to mediate between the rationalists and empiricists. By employing the term noumenon, Kant acknowledges that it was being used as a paradigm shift from its former usage. This paper aims at showing that by observing linguistic rules, Kant’s notion of “noumenon” as the “thing in itself”, is capable of being misconstrued if approached from its etymological Greek understanding - “to think”. The paper adopts the critical method of analysis.