Thursday, January 16, 2020

Copernican Revolution and Evolution

Kant uses the term 'Copernican Revolution' to signify a transition from the concept of Mind conforming to Object, to that of Object conforming to Mind.  But, more precisely, as is, the two concepts are merely converses, with neither privileged, i. e. a reverse of the transition also constitutes a 'revolution'.  Likewise, for Kant, the superiority of the concept of Object conforming to Mind, is due to its greater explanatory power, independent of the direction of the 'Revolution'.  Now, as has been previously discussed, the contrast between Mind conforming to Object, and Object conforming to Mind, is a special case of two kinds of Adaptation: Adaptation-To and Adaptation-Of.  Furthermore, a transition from the former to the latter can be explained as an Evolutionary development, i. e. as an increase in the control by a Species of its Environment, as part of a longer-term preparation for the eventual origination of a more highly evolved Species.  In those terms, Kant's Copernican Revolution can be conceived as the motor of a transition to a superior concept of the Mind-Object relation, i. e. as a transition from Adaptation-To, to Adaptation-Of.

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