Theory of Knowledge aims at being a scientific investigation of
the very fact which all other sciences take for granted without
examination, viz., knowing or knowledge-getting itself. To say this
is to attribute to it, from the very start, the character of being the
fundamental philosophical discipline. For, it is only this discipline
which can tell us what value and significance belong to the insight
gained by the other sciences. In this respect it is the foundation for
all scientific endeavour. But, it is clear that the Theory of Knowledge
can fulfil its task only if it works without any presuppositions of
its own, so far as that is possible in view of the nature of human
knowledge. This is probably conceded on all sides. And yet, a more
detailed examination of the better-known epistemological systems
reveals that, at the very starting-point of the inquiry, there is
made a whole series of assumptions which detract considerably from
the plausibility of the rest of the argument. In particular, it is
noticeable how frequently certain hidden assumptions are made in the
very formulation of the fundamental problems of epistemology. But,
if a science begins by misstating its problems, we must despair
from the start of finding the right solution. The history of the
sciences teaches us that countless errors, from which whole epochs have
suffered, are to be traced wholly and solely to the fact that certain
problems were wrongly formulated. For illustrations there is no need
to go back to Aristotle or to the Ars Magna Lulliana. There are plenty
of examples in more recent times. The numerous questions concerning
the purposes of the rudimentary organs of certain organisms could
be correctly formulated only after the discovery of the fundamental
law of biogenesis had created the necessary conditions. As long as
Biology was under the influence of teleological concepts, it was
impossible to put these problems in a form permitting a satisfactory
answer. What fantastic ideas, for example, were current concerning the
purpose of the so-called pineal gland, so long as it was fashionable
to frame biological questions in terms of "purpose." An answer was
not achieved until the solution of the problem was sought by the
method of Comparative Anatomy, and scientists asked whether this
organ might not be merely a residual survival in man from a lower
evolutionary level. Or, to mention yet another example, consider the
modifications in certain physical problems after the discovery of the
laws of the mechanical equivalents of heat and of the conservation
of energy! In short, the success of scientific investigations depends
essentially upon the investigator's ability to formulate his problems
correctly. Even though the Theory of Knowledge, as the presupposition
of all other sciences, occupies a position very different from
theirs, we may yet expect that for it, too, successful progress in
its investigations will become possible only when the fundamental
questions have been put in the correct form.
The following discussions aim, in the first place, at such a
formulation of the problem of knowledge as will do justice to the
character of the Theory of Knowledge as a discipline which is without
any presuppositions whatever. Their secondary aim is to throw light on
the relation of J. G. Fichte's Wissenschaftslehre to such a fundamental
philosophical discipline. The reason why precisely Fichte's attempt
to provide an absolutely certain basis for the sciences will be
brought into closer relation with our own philosophical programme,
will become clear of itself in the course of our investigation.