‘On viewing the figure’: Wolff, Mendelssohn, Lambert and Kant on the method of geometry

Emily Carson (McGill University)

In this paper, I consider four presentations of geometrical demonstration by Wolff, Mendelssohn, Lambert and the pre-Critical Kant to show the role that each admits for sensibility in geometrical cognition. I then argue that Kant’s Critical conception of geometrical demonstration was not so different from those of his predecessors. What Kant contributes is an account of the nature of sensibility that can explain the acknowledged role for construction in geometrical demonstration.