Why doesn't Kant think that we can have knowledge of the things-in-themselves (das Ding-an-sich)?
A) because they have not yet been experienced
B) because they are not physical in nature
C) because they are not mental in nature
D) because the organizing principles of the mind do not apply to them

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to Kant, the things-in-themselves exist independently of our perceptions and mental representations, but we can never have knowledge of them because our cognitive faculties structure and organize the sensory information that we receive from the world around us. In other words, our minds impose certain categories and concepts on the raw materials of our experience, and these mental structures shape and limit our understanding of reality. Thus, although we can know the phenomenal world, which is the world as it appears to us, we can never penetrate to the noumenal world, which is the world as it is in itself.

Why Doesn't Kant Think That We Can Have Knowledge of the Things-In-Themselves