Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains the contemporary debate on scientific laws, in particular the question of whether there are any laws of nature and, if so, whether they can be known by people, through the lenses of the Kantian idea of systematic unity. It discusses the role of reflective judgments in Kant’s theory of epistemic normativity. The book argues that the reflective inferences of the teleological power of judgment are necessary, in addition to the conceptual rules of the understanding, in order to constitute our knowledge of the physical world as an organic and unified system. It explains the relation between understanding, consciousness and self-consciousness in Kant. The book focuses on the unity of science thesis, namely the idea that science is both about one single coherent world and that all scientific theories should harmonize towards a systematic description of reality.