English

On Kant's first insight into the problem of space dimensionality and its physical foundations

History and Philosophy of Physics 2021-10-19 v2

Abstract

In this article it is shown that a careful analysis of Kant's "Thoughts on the True Estimation of Living Forces" leads to a conclusion that does not match the usually accepted interpretation of Kant's reasoning in 1747, according to which the Young Kant supposedly establishes a relationship between the tridimensionality of space and Newton's law of universal gravitation. Indeed, it is argued that this text does not yield a satisfactory explanation of space dimensionality, actually restricting itself to justify the tridimensionality of extension.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.0907.3531,
  title  = {On Kant's first insight into the problem of space dimensionality and its physical foundations},
  author = {Francisco Caruso and Roberto Moreira Xavier},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0907.3531},
  year   = {2021}
}

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14 pages