ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a clear picture of both the historical background and the philosophical methodology which form part of Mind and World, together with a summary of John McDowell's narrative. It claims that McDowell's methodology plays an important role in Mind and World and, therefore, merits a thorough analysis as a prelude to the discussion of the main issues which are raised. McDowell deals with this topic in Mind and World and his main ideas regarding Kant's quotation. McDowell describes the Given as the idea that the space of reasons, the space of justifications or warrants, extends more widely than the conceptual sphere. McDowell acknowledges making use of Sellars' attack on the Given as well as Sellars' concept of the space of reasons. The link between Wittgenstein and McDowell is evident in a number of papers where McDowell comments on the controversy surrounding Wittgenstein's remarks on rule-following in the Philosophical Investigations.
