Schopenhauer on Space, Time, Causality and Matter: A Physical Re-examination

TL;DR

This paper re-examines Schopenhauer's philosophical ideas on space, time, causality, and matter by analyzing their compatibility with classical and modern physics, exploring whether these concepts are a priori in light of scientific developments.

Contribution

It provides a modern reinterpretation of Schopenhauer's philosophy, integrating classical and contemporary physics to assess the a priori status of fundamental concepts.

Findings

Space, time, and causality may not be purely a priori in modern physics.

Matter and field concepts have potential a priori foundations reconsidered in a scientific context.

Schopenhauer's ideas can be extended and challenged by current physical theories.

Abstract

According to Schopenhauer, Kant's arguments about the transcendental ideality of space and time can be extended to matter through the concept of causality and the principle of sufficient reason. In this article, I examine to what extent space, time and causality can be considered a priori concepts in the light of classical and modern physics. The concepts of matter and field, and their possible a priori fundaments, as stated by Schopenhauer, are thus revisited in a modern context.