The Critique of Pure Reason, Section II summary
Section II of 79 · Part 2: Transcendental Logic · 6 min to read the section
In Section II, the speaker classifies judgments under quantity, quality, relation, and modality, assigning three forms to each and explaining distinctions needed for transcendental logic. The discussion separates singular from universal judgments and infinite from affirmative judgments, then distinguishes relations between propositions from their possible, actual, or necessary status.
What happens
- Setting aside judgment’s content reveals four groups of logical functions, each with three forms.
- Singular judgments resemble universal judgments in syllogisms but differ from them when compared as cognitions by quantity.
- Infinite judgments affirm a negative predicate, limiting a concept without positively specifying it.
- Categorical, hypothetical, and disjunctive judgments concern subject and predicate, principle and consequence, and mutually exclusive parts of a whole.
- Modality adds no content but marks a judgment as possible, actual, or necessary in relation to thought.
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What to notice
Modality differs from the other groups because it changes no content. It concerns how a judgment stands in relation to thought.
Quick check
What does modality add to a judgment’s content?
Cite this page
“The Critique of Pure Reason, Section II summary.” Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/pages/the-critique-of-pure-reason-section-2-summary.
Library of Alexandria. (2026). The Critique of Pure Reason, Section II summary. https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/the-critique-of-pure-reason-section-2-summary
“The Critique of Pure Reason, Section II summary.” Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/the-critique-of-pure-reason-section-2-summary.
@misc{the_critique_of_pure_reason_section_2_summary_2026,
title = {The Critique of Pure Reason, Section II summary},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/the-critique-of-pure-reason-section-2-summary}
}
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