necessity.



Not only in judgements, however, but even in conceptions, is an a

priori origin manifest. For example, if we take away by degrees from

our conceptions of a body all that can be referred to mere

sensuous experience--colour, hardness or softness, weight, even

impenetrability--the body will then vanish; but the space which it

occupied still remains, and this it is utterly impossible to annihilate

in thought. Again, if we take away, in like manner, from our empirical

conception of any object, corporeal or incorporeal, all properties which

mere experience has taught us to connect with it, still we cannot think

away those through which we cogitate it as substance, or adhering to

substance, although our conception of substance is more determined than

that of an object. Compelled, therefore, by that necessity with which

the conception of substance forces itself upon us, we must confess that

it has its seat in our faculty of cognition a priori.



Of far more importance than all that has been above said, is the

consideration that certain of our cognitions rise completely above the

sphere of all possible experience, and by means of conceptions, to which

there exists in the whole extent of experience no corresponding object,

seem to extend the range of our judgements beyond its bounds. And just

in this transcendental or supersensible sphere, where experience affords

us neither instruction nor guidance, lie the investigations of reason,

which, on account of their importance, we consider far preferable to,

and as having a far more elevated aim than, all that the understanding

can achieve within the sphere of sensuous phenomena. So high a value

do we set upon these investigations, that even at the risk of error, we

persist in following them out, and permit neither doubt nor disregard

nor indifference to restrain us from the pursuit. These unavoidable

problems of mere pure reason are God, freedom (of will), and

immortality. The science which, with all its preliminaries, has for its

especial object the solution of these problems is named metaphysics--a

science which is at the very outset dogmatical, that is, it confidently

takes upon itself the execution of this task without any previous

investigation of the ability or inability of reason for such an

undertaking.



Now the safe ground of experience being thus abandoned, it seems

nevertheless natural that we should hesitate to erect a building with

the cognitions we possess, without knowing whence they come, and on the

strength of principles, the origin of which is undiscovered. Instead of

thus trying to build without a foundation, it is rather to be expected

that we