transcendentale

Transcendentale is a term with significant philosophical import, most notably associated with the work of Immanuel Kant. In its broadest sense, it refers to conditions or principles that are prior to and make possible any experience whatsoever. These are not empirical concepts derived from experience, but rather a priori structures of the mind that organize and give form to our perceptions. Kant distinguishes between "transcendental" and "transcendent." Transcendental, for Kant, pertains to the conditions of possibility of experience, while transcendent refers to that which lies beyond the limits of all possible experience.

In Kant's critical philosophy, the transcendental aesthetic investigates the a priori forms of sensibility, namely space and time, which are not properties of things in themselves but are necessary frameworks through which we perceive the world. The transcendental analytic then examines the a priori concepts of understanding, known as categories, such as causality and substance, which are essential for making judgments about experience. These transcendental elements are not objects of knowledge themselves but are the necessary preconditions for any objective knowledge. The scope of transcendental philosophy is thus limited to the domain of possible experience, as anything beyond this realm, like God, freedom, and immortality, remains transcendent and unknowable through reason alone, though potentially accessible through faith or practical reason. The term has also seen varied interpretations and applications in subsequent philosophical traditions, sometimes diverging from Kant's original meaning.