Quote: knowledge of the existence of the cause of all possible effects is both indispensable and unknowable

Quotation

It is certainly allowable to admit the existence of an all-sufficient being--a cause of all possible effects ... But to assert that such a being necessarily exists, is no longer the modest enunciation of an admissible hypothesis, but the boldest declaration of an apodeictic certainty; for the knowledge of that which is absolutely necessary, must itself possess that character. ... But both attempts [of the transcendental ideal] are equally beyond our power ... Unconditioned necessity, which, as the ultimate support of all existing things, is an indispensable requirement, is an abyss on the verge of which human reason trembles in dismay.   Google-1   Google-2

Published before 1923

Additional Titles

Quote: knowledge of an unconditioned necessity must itself be an unconditioned necessity and hence unknowable

Related Topics

Topic: metaphysics and epistemology (65 items)
Topic: skepticism about knowledge (34 items)
Topic: necessary truth (24 items)