The Terms and Concepts of German Idealism
Kant’s Terms
- Critique (in German, Kritik). Kant used the term to indicate a close examination of central principles that others had passed over without noticing—the term does not necessarily imply a negative evaluation, but does imply that the precise construction and limitations of those principles shall be brought to light.
- Presentations (in German, Darstellungen) the images that the sensory organs present to the mind—to be distinguished from the things themselves.
- Judgment (Ger. Urteilskraft) the faculty of the mind that perceives beauty and the sublime, a separate mental capability from that of perception and analysis.