Why Does Wilfrid Sellars Not Have a Transcendental Deduction?

This chapter argues that Sellars’ categories differ significantly from Kantian categories in two important ways. Kantian categories are pure and necessary, whereas Sellars’ categories are impure and contingent. This distinction explains why Sellars does not offer a transcendental deduction; such a deduction is only necessary for pure categories since experience cannot be used to prove their objective validity. Contrary to Sellars' intention to align analytic philosophy more closely with Kant, these differences also suggest that his theory of categories represents a regression to Humean principles.