In the scholarly debate, controversy surrounds the function and significance of Kant's Opus postumum for his philosophy. Dina Emundts demonstrates that the main function of the unpublished works is to develop a system of all the concepts required for empirical knowledge, and why this is indispensable for the foundation of an empirical physics. She presents a detailed analysis of the relationship of the conception of the Opus postumum to Kant's earlier writings. Beyond this, she examines further questions: why does Kant consider the foundation of the empirical sciences to be necessary, and why is this a task for a philosopher; how does Kant justify the possibility of scientific empirical knowledge; how does he proceed with the project of providing the necessary conceptual tools for an empirical physics?

Dina Emundts is a Research Fellow in the Department of Philosophy at the Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.