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On the Position of Maimon's PhilosophyAuthor(s): Nathan RotenstreichReviewed work(s):Source: The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Mar., 1968), pp. 534-545Published by: Philosophy Education Society Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20124632 .Accessed: 15/06/2012 13:33
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EXPLORATION
ON THE POSITION OF MAIMONA PHILOSOPHY NATHAN RUTENSTREICH
I
Interwoven in the complex texture of Solomon Maim?n 's
(1752-1800) system are strands of thought originating in the
theories of his avowed creditors. Maim?n is one of the first
modern philosophers who acknowledges his debt to diverse philo
sophical trends and traditions. Among his major creditors, Maim?n includes Maimonides and Spinoza.1 The present analysis, however, will be restricted to an exploration of his debt to Leibniz,
Hume, and Kant.
In interweaving aspects of thought from Leibniz and Hume, Maim?n takes his departure from the earlier synthesis of their posi
tions, wrorked out by Kant in the Critique of Pure Reason. But
Maim?n goes beyond Kant, by interlacing theories of the critical
philosophy itself, with the web Kant had woven of strands from
Leibniz and Hume. What permitted Maim?n to link the seemingly
incompatible systems of the rationalist and the sceptic? In the
first place, both thinkers sought to establish the validity of the
relation between the two pillars of knowledge, concepts and sense
data. Secondly, both philosophers believed that the way to ac
complish their aim was to derive one component of knowledge from the other. According to Leibniz, the empirical factor can be
derived from the conceptual; while, according to Hume, "ideas"
can be derived from "impressions." But the difference in direction does not alter the fact that both
Leibniz and Hume posit a genetic relation between the two factors :
according to both, concepts are applicable to sense-data because
one factor grows out of the other. Hume maintains that concepts
1 On Maimon's relation to Spinoza see S. H. Bergman, The Philosophy of
Solomon Maim?n (Jerusalem, 1967), pp. 216 ff.
ON THE POSITION OF MAIMON'S PHILOSOPHY 535
are valid because they are copies of impressions; Leibniz maintains
that the empirical factor can be explained hecause it constitutes a
stage in a continuous context originating in the monad. Both
Leibniz and Hume, then, sought?albeit in opposite directions?a
continuous transition between the heterogeneous component fac
tors of human knowledge. Kant rejects this method of coping with the problem of valid
ity. Taking his departure from the assumption that there can be
no continuous transition between concepts and sense impressions, Kant sought another way of establishing the validity of concepts, or alternately, a different tnethod of justifying their application to
sense-data. According to Kant, the relation between the two fac
tors is not genetic but functional.2 Unlike Leibniz and Hume, who
abolish duality, Kant sustains it. Whereas Leibniz and Hume
represent duality as the crux and source of their problem, Kant
represents it as the framework and foundation for his solution.
Arguing that the function of relating and ordering pertains to the
very nature of concepts, and that only by being incorporated into
a conceptually determined structure does the datum occupy a log ical position. Kant establishes the interrelatedness of the two fac
tors, without assuming that one can be derived from the other.
Unlike Leibniz, who posits a genetic relation in which intelligible truths find empirical realization and unlike Hume, who posits a
genetic relation in which sense impressions find their conceptual
copies, Kant posits a relation based upon the synthetic nature of
knowledge, i.e., a relation subsisting between heterogeneous factors.
Both Leibniz and Hume furnish Maim?n with criteria for
measuring Kant's solution to the problem of validity. On the one
hand, Maim?n applies the Leibnizian criterion which?by repre
senting the empirical factor as a realization of the rational factor?
robs the former of its independence. On the other hand, he
applies Hume's criterion according to which the empirical factor
can be neither abolished nor reduced to another factor. It is not
only against Kant, but also against Leibniz that Maim?n raises his
2 See my Experience and its Systemalization, Studies in Kant (The
Hague, 1965).
536 NATHAN ROTENSTR?ICH
objections. For the burden of Maim?n 's objection is this: to
translate intelligible truths into empirical truths is impossible
owing to the irreducible residuum of experience established by Hume. If the heterogeneity of the factors is ultimate?so Maim?n 's
criticism runs?then Kant's solution is unsatisfactory. To repre sent duality as the foundation for one's solution, is merely to
pretend that the question itself is an answer.
But Maim?n uses Leibniz as a weapon rather than as a target for criticism. According to Maim?n, Leibniz provides the only
possibility of solving the problem: a relation between empirical data and intelligible concepts can be established only by eliminating the former, that is to say, only by making the empirical factor
thoroughly intelligible. In assuming a synthetic connection be
tween the factors, Kant transfers the problem and its solution to
a new sphere. But the heterogeneity of the factors is a problem
posed by synthesis as well. Kant assumes that he has overcome
the acute form of heterogeneity which might preclude the possi
bility of a synthetic connection. This, however, is analogous to
the assumption that by bringing one extreme in contact with the
other, we cancel the polar opposition between them. Like Hume, whose spokesman he purports to be, Maim?n emphasizes the ir
reducibility of the datum. But whereas Hume maintains the
primacy of the datum, Maim?n maintains its independence vis-?-vis
the concept. In this respect, Maim?n fights Kant with a Kantian
weapon; for it was Kant who taught that the empirical-perceptual factor is no less independent than the conceptual factor. Accord
ing to Maim?n, if the empirical factor is independent, then even
synthesis is impossible.
On the one hand, then, Maimon's position resembles Kant's
in that it lies midway between Leibniz's and Hume's. On the
other hand, however, Maim?n diverges from Kant in using Kant's
system as evidence that the impossibility of solving the problem raised by Hume implies the impossibility of realizing the solution
proposed by Leibniz. To put it another way, because he con
sciously confines the solution he proposes within the limits of
finite understanding, Kant draws a distinction between archetypal
understanding and ectypal understanding. Maim?n apparently
agrees with Kant that the solution is confined within the limits of
ON THE POSITION OF MAIMON'S PHILOSOPHY 537
finite understanding. But he goes beyond Kant in two respects. For one thing, he stresses the limits of finite understanding by
putting more pointedly the problem posed by Hume, i.e., by
pointing out what makes human understanding finite. For an
other, he furnishes finite understanding with a criterion for
measuring its own finitude by juxtaposing it with the infinite
understanding posited by Leibniz. From Hume, Maim?n adopted the ultimate fact of sensation and the conclusion Hume based upon
it, namely that the relations among concepts are purely psycholog ical. From Leibniz, Maim?n adopted the cognitive ideal by con
trast with which the nature of empirical knowledge is illuminated.
What conclusions can we draw from Maim?n's adaptation of
elements from Leibniz, Hume and Kant? First of all, because
Kant's system constitutes the background against which Maim?n
develops his theory, we can increase our appreciation of Kant by
studying Maim?n. Secondly, we may expect that one problem with which Maim?n will be preoccupied will be the nature of valid
knowledge. Finally, we may assume that the other problem with
which Maim?n will be preoccupied will be the nature of the factors
which prevent the realization of valid knowledge.3
II
What are the distinguishing marks of valid knowledge? To
answer this question it is necessary to recall that in classical philos
ophy a distinction was drawn between the intelligible world on the
one hand, and the empirical world on the other. The first step toward cancelling this distinction was taken by Kant. By
substituting understanding and sensation for intelligible world and
sensible world, Kant transformed what liad hitherto been a differ
ence in the structure of the world, into a difference within the
limits of knowledge. But despite the enclosure of the diverse
factors within the realm of knowledge, their duality remained
intact. The cognitive significance which Kant assigns to the differ
3 See the most recent comprehensive study : Samuel Atlas, From
Critical to Speculative Idealism: The Philosophy of Solomon Maim?n
(The Hague, 1964).
538 NATHAN ROTENSTREICH
ence between understanding and sensation?as distinguished from
the ontological validity it had been assigned in classical philosophy ?can, perhaps, be said to constitute the logical condition of Kant's
idea of synthesis. Maim?n goes beyond Kant by asking: if under
standing and sensation are indeed elements of knowledge, then
why must their duality be maintained? If understanding and
sensation are indeed constituents of knowledge, then they ought to
be understood as elements of a single system, rather than as two
systems, one of which is based upon the other.
In abolishing the ontological difference, and in substituting a difference between two sources of knowledge, Kant took the first
step toward rationalization. The second step toward rationaliza
tion is taken by Maim?n, who abolishes the difference between the
two sources of knowledge and substitutes a duality immanent in
the sphere of knowledge; a duality immanent in the process of
rationalization which perpetually and progressively overcomes the
irrational factor, i.e., the datum. By being absorbed into the
process of rationalization, the irrational factor is robbed of its
irreducibility which would otherwise arrogate a stable status.
Integration into the continuous process of rationalization is
substituted for the fixed status of the components of knowledge.
The change undergone by the datum entails a new view both
of concepts and of the syntheses connected with them. From
Kant's well-known observation that concepts without intuitions are
empty, and intuitions without concepts are blind, it follows that
contents are created through synthesis. It is the content which
constitutes the encounter between the different elements. Abolish
ing the difference between the elements entails the absorption of
the content into the concept itself, i.e., into the concept as endowed
with the power of explication. As endowed with the power of
explication, the concept itself is the content. Synthesis no longer denotes the self-transcendence of concepts and their application to
intuitions. The fullness furnished by intuition is implicit, to begin
with, in the concept; and synthesis is but the fullness of the con
cept. Being full to begin with, not depending upon intuition for
its fullness, the concept can serve as a starting point for an
explicative process, i.e., for a genetic process in which the problem of validity finds its solution. It may accordingly be said that
ON THE POSITION OF MAIMON'S PHILOSOPHY 539
Maim?n goes beyond Leibniz, Hume, and Kant by developing the
central tenet of each: with the help of Kant's concept of synthesis, Maim?n undertakes to demonstrate the possibility of a transition
from understanding to experience, which was maintained by Leibniz and denied by Hume. But by so doing, he assigned a new
meaning to Kant's conception of synthesis; whereas Kant defined
concepts as functions which order the datum, Maim?n defines them
as the content of the universe.
Ill
Maim?n 's new interpretation of synthesis leads him to a new
conception of the rationality of the universe. Rationality, Maim?n
maintains, consists in the creation of the datum out of the concept, not in the explanation of the datum by means of the concept.
Rationality is realized in the generation of the datum. Maim?n
sought concrete expression for this concept of rationality in the
following facets of his system :
(A) Conspicuous in its absence from the epistemological
sphere is the noncognitive factor posited by Kant, namely the
thing-in-itself.4 In Kant's system, the thing-in-itself fulfills the
twofold function of (a) supplying knowledge with the datum; and
(b) guaranteeing that the datum will not be eliminated from
knowledge. Kant's thing-in-itself frustrates, as it were, the ten
dency of the concept to produce the datum out of itself by way of a
continuous transition. If, however, by "concept" we mean the
element of fullness, then there is neither room nor reason for
limiting its fullness by assigning a cognitive function to the thing
in-itself; there is neither room nor reason for allotting a cognitive function to a factor which subsists beyond the sphere of knowl
edge. Anticipating Hermann Cohen and his followers, Maim?n
argues that the thing-in-itself cannot bear the brunt of criticism
based upon an analysis of the nature and constituent elements of
knowledge.
4 See Bergman, op. cit., pp. 7 ff., and Atlas, op. cit., pp. 20 ff.
540 NATHAN ROTENSTREICH
(B) Elimination of the thing-in-itself is entailed by the
assumption concerning the synthetic character of concepts ; but no
positive characteristic of synthesis is illuminated by its elimination.
The synthetic character of concepts finds positive expression in the
apparent pivot of Maimon's system, the law of determinability
(Satz der Bestimmbarkeit). How is it possible, Maim?n asks, to
link a particular predicate with a particular subject? Predication, a fundamental function of all knowledge, is not an arbitrary act of
formal assertion. This function must necessarily be anchored in
the meaning and structure of the concepts it combines; it is not
only from the perspective of the assertion, but also from the per
spective of content, that a particular term must constitute a pred icate of a particular subject. Or, as Maim?n puts it, the content
must be the measure of whether the subject is determined by the
predicate, and whether the predicate is the determination. The
combination in the assertion is accordingly based upon the clarity of the known content; and the known content guides the combina
tion in the assertion. Not the formal facets of the proposi tional structure, but the known contents permit us to say "This is a right-angled triangle," and prevent us from saying "This is a right-angled truth." Whereas, according to the realistic
solution, knowledge is valid because it copies the clear structure
of the world, according to Maim?n, knowledge is valid when it is
formulated in assertions which reflect its own clear structure, i.e.,
the structure of a determinable subject and its determinations.
Maim?n also maintains that the concept is not merely an ordering function but also a fullness of content, because its very nature leads
us to bring forth from potentiality into actuality its implicit deter
minations. Here Maim?n seems to interweave two strands of
Aristotle's philosophy: the element of emergence from potentiality into actuality as a law of the universe, and the element of related
ness between subject and predicate as the structure of propositions. As represented by Maim?n, the passage from potentiality into
actuality is implicit in the relation between subject and predicate; the structure of the universe is implicit in the structure of proposi tions. The encounter between metaphysical and logical structure
occurs neither on the plane of the universe, nor on the plane of
formal logic, but on the plane of knowledge saturated with con
ceptual content.
ON THE POSITION OF MAIMON'S PHILOSOPHY 541
(C) The pivotal notion of Maim?n's system is not exhausted
in the observation that it combines an element of Aristotelian logic with an element of Aristotelian metaphysics, the subject-predicate structure of propositions with the dynamic structure of the uni
verse. For Maim?n also adapts for his purposes the element of
substance and accident. Maim?n explicitly represents the relation
between substance and accident as displaying a structure which has
been transferred to the logical sphere : he correlates the determined
subject with substance as being independent of its determination; and he correlates the determination with the accident as being
dependent upon the determined subject. Maim?n 's transfer of
ontological categories to the logical-conceptual sphere clearly reflects his tendency to abolish the duality of the spheres. Also
reflected in this transfer is Maimon's closely related argument that
the structure of substances cannot be transparent or rational, unless
it is at the same time the structure of concepts.
To understand why Maim?n transfers the structure of sub
stance and accident to the conceptual sphere, is at the same time
to understand why he criticizes the notion that the category of
causality constitutes the supreme principle of knowledge. Were
we to represent as a central metaphysical motif the conflict between
the principle of substance and the principle of causality, we would
have to include Maim?n among the leading proponents of the
former: measuring the principle of causality by his standard of
rationality, Maim?n argues that the relation between cause and
effect is not meaningful, because?being a relation of implication rather than explication?it is not based upon the inner content of
the related terms. The assertion and determination which many thinkers represent as the strength of the causality principle are
represented by Maim?n as its weakness. A connection of this
kind, Maim?n argues, is external and meaningless. Maimon's
cognitive ideal, then, is to find an immanent-meaningful founda
tion for the interconnectedness of elements, even when their con
nection occurs merely in time. This ideal cannot be satisfied by the merely temporal relation of succession. Maim?n consequently tries to correlate the principle of causality with a type of continuous
transition based upon the content of the phases which follow one
another, not upon their position in a temporal sequence.
542 NATHAN ROTENSTREICH
(D) The very terminology employed by Maim?n reflects the
rationalization predominant in his teaching. Particularly per
tinent, in this respect, is the term "differential," which Maim?n uses to denote the process of creating the datum out of the con
cept, the perceptions being integrals of the conceptual elements.
As S. H. Bergman has shown,3 the position occupied by the
concept of differential in Maimon's system is parallel to the position
occupied by the concept of schematism in Kant's system. Yet this
aspect of Maimon's concept need not detain us, since it pertains to
the technical machinery of his system, rather than to its main trend
toward rationalization.
To throw further light on that trend, it might be worthwhile
to examine the relations between Formal Logic, which pertains to
the structure of judgments, and Transcendental Logic, which per tains to objects. Maim?n was among the first philosophers to
take issue with Kant on this central matter. Unlike Kant, Maim?n
maintains the primacy of Transcendental Logic and its inde
pendence of Formal Logic. In thus diverging from Kant, Maim?n
sought, first of all, to invest thought with content and, secondly, to make Formal Logic?which deliberately disregards and abstracts
from content?merely an abstraction of the full, and consequently creative, concept. Once we admit that the concept is dynamic, that it is the precondition of rationalization through generation of
the datum out of a concept, then we are driven to regard content
saturated thought as primary, and formal thought as secondary.6
IV
If Maimon's system appears Janus-faced, it is because the trend
toward rationalization is accompanied by an awareness that ration
ality cannot be realized within the limits of finite understanding. Rationalization is obstructed by the factual difference between the
component elements of knowledge, i.e., by the dual structure de
scribed in Kant's critical system. Maimon's factual scepticism is
5 See Bergman, op. cit., pp. 65 ff.; Atlas, op. cit., pp. 109 ff.
6 See Rotenstreich, Experience and its Systematization, Studies in
Kant, pp. 14 ff.
ON THE POSITION OF MAIMON'S PHILOSOPHY 543
based upon two different uses of Kant's system: on the one hand,
he measures Kant's system by the standard of rationalization, and
finds it wanting; on the other hand, he measures rationalization
by Kant's system, and finds that it cannot be realized. Thus
Maim?n seems to accept the Kantian system de facto, even though he denies that it constitutes a solution to the problem it was
designed to solve. Maimon's system may accordingly be described
as a combination of fundamental rationalism and factual scepticism. What other reason is there for Maimon's factual scepticism?
It will be recalled that there is an element of ambiguity in Kant's
concept of experience. "Experience" connotes the domain of
sensuous encounter with data. It is in this sense that Kant says
"Everything else has to be left to experience." 7
Yet when he says that he deals with experience as grounded both in perception and
in understanding,8 he refers to experience as a synthesis and not
as a mere encounter. In any case Kant does not offer an exhaustive
explanation of the relation between the two meanings of expe rience. Maim?n seems to have been more precise in this matter;
using Kantian terms, he maintained that a particular sense-impres sion is an actual experience, while the total system of knowledge
represents possible experience. This implies that concepts are
applicable to knowledge in general qua possible experience, and
that they are not applicable to actual experience qua this or that
particular impression. There is no internal connection between
this particular impression in its ultimate factuality and the system of knowledge. Hence the applicability of the system to the impres sion is not demonstrated by Kant. The question quid facti remains
unsolved; rationalization through generation of the datum from
the concept remains unattainable within the limits of finite under
standing. In the history of sceptical ideas, Maimon's factual scepticism
occupies a special position His scepticism is aware of, and mea
sures itself by, a criterion of knowledge immune against scepticism. Both scepticism and relativism are generally challenged on the
7 Kritik der reinen Vernunft, B, p. 218. In trans, by Kemp Smith
(London, 1950), p. 208. 8
Prolegomena zu einer jeden k?nftigen Metaphysik, etc. S 20, trans, by Peter and Lucas (Manchester, 1953).
544 NATHAN ROTENSTREICH
grounds that they presuppose what they negate. More specifically, it is objected, first of all, that the sceptic assertion "there is no
certain judgment" is itself a certain judgment. Secondly, it is
objected that scepticism is possible only by comparison with some
thing which is beyond doubt. Neither of these objections seems
pertinent to Maimon's scepticism. Maim?n explicitly restricts
doubt within the limits of empirical knowledge. Doubt, as he
puts it, applies to the existence of thought concerning objects in
conformity to the a priori conditions of knowledge. Such doubt
does not cancel itself because it applies only to knowledge of
objects, not to knowledge of the structure of knowledge. Further
more, such scepticism is explicitly formulated by reference to a
definite, crystallized, cognitive ideal. Such scepticism accordingly
implies the nonrealization of the ideal, not the self-contradiction or
self-destruction of knowledge.
V
The Janus-faced character of Maimon's system carries decisive
weight from the viewpoint of the development of philosophy. We
may venture to say that Maim?n formulated the program of nine
teenth century idealism, fully aware that the program could not be
carried out. Nineteenth century idealism may be described as a
philosophical movement which endeavors, or dares, to undertake
the execution of Maimon's program. Idealism tries to abolish the
sceptical boundary set by Maim?n; it attempts to abolish the differ ence between finite consciousness and infinite-divine consciousness.
It is not by chance that Hegel's system is described by Whitehead as a philosophic attitude of a God.9 Hegel's design was to abolish
the inner opposition between our minds and objects, and to repre sent objects or objectivity as objectified mind. Why do we describe this realization of Maimon's program as daring? Unlike Maim?n,
Hegel does not represent finite mind as a limitation of infinite
mind; he represents infinite mind as an immanent explication of
9 "Analysis of Meaning," in Essays in Science and Philosophy (London,
1948), p. 99.
ON THE POSITION OF MAIMON'S PHILOSOPHY 545
finite mind. This is why Hegel assigns a central position in his
system to the Phenomenology of Spirit; for it is here that he
justifies his daring venture. Here he undertakes to demonstrate
not only that Maimon's program can be realized as a matter of
principle, but also that it is actually realized, and realized precisely
by that finite mind which Maim?n represented as incapable of
realizing rationalization. What Maim?n represents as frustrating the trend toward realization, Hegel represents as sustaining it.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.