precritical

Precritical is an adjective used in philosophy and intellectual history to describe a phase, attitude, or set of works that precedes a critical method or critique. The term is not a formal technical category, but a label scholars apply to distinguish approaches that have not yet subjected knowledge, judgment, or metaphysical claims to systematic critical scrutiny.

In Kantian scholarship, “precritical” most often refers to the period of Immanuel Kant’s thought before the publication of the Critique of Pure Reason (1781). This precritical phase is typically associated with more dogmatic or rationalist tendencies and a different methodological stance than Kant’s later critical philosophy, which emphasizes the conditions and limits of human knowledge. The distinction helps historians of philosophy describe a development from early, assumptive forms of inquiry to a more reflective, critique-centered approach.

Outside Kant, the term can be used more broadly to describe any thinker, era, or text that anticipates but does not yet employ a mature critical method. In this broader sense, precritical works may be characterized by straightforward metaphysical speculation, doctrinal systems, or unexamined premises that later critical traditions would challenge or overhaul.

Usage notes: precritical is occasional and context-dependent; it does not denote a formal school or defined period. It serves as a historical convenience for tracing the evolution of critical thought and for contrasting earlier approaches with later, self-consciously critical methods.

See also: critical philosophy, Kant, precritical Kant, metaphysical speculation, critique.