Unit 1 Quiz — Kant and the Preface: The Scandal of Metaphysics
Question 1 of 9
Why did Kant write the Prolegomena (1783) after the Critique of Pure Reason (1781)?
What is the 'scandal of metaphysics' that frames the Preface?
The very first question of the Prolegomena — asked before 'which metaphysics is true?' — is:
Kant credits Hume with interrupting his 'dogmatic slumber.' What does 'dogmatism' mean in Kant's technical sense?
Hume's challenge to causation is best stated as:
What is Kant's decisive move in response to Hume's problem about causation?
The Prolegomena is said to use the 'analytic (regressive) method.' This means it:
Into which three sub-questions does the master question 'How are synthetic a priori judgments possible?' divide?
✍️ Open answer · AI-graded
Kant's Prolegomena refuses to add another metaphysical system and instead asks whether metaphysics is possible at all. Reconstruct (a) the 'scandal' that motivates this question, (b) the role Hume plays in reorienting Kant, and (c) why the book proceeds by the analytic (regressive) method rather than the synthetic method of the Critique. Show how these three threads fit together into a single project.
What to cover: Tie together the Preface's contrast between metaphysics and the progressing sciences, Hume's problem of causation and how Kant generalizes it, and the regressive method that starts from mathematics and physics as given. Aim to show WHY each move follows from the last, not just to state them.
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