The Second Critique

The Second Critique, written by Immanuel Kant, explores how we acquire knowledge and make judgments about the world. It examines the limits and capacities of human reason—why some questions are answerable through scientific investigation, while others remain beyond understanding. Kant introduces the idea that our mind actively structures experiences using innate categories, such as cause and effect. This process shapes how we perceive reality, enabling us to understand phenomena but not the underlying "things-in-themselves" beyond our experience. Essentially, the critique explains how our cognition frames reality and clarifies the boundaries of human knowledge.