idea of pure reason

[ ahy-dee-uh uhv pyoor ree-zuhn ]

noun

, Kantianism.

1. any of the three undemonstrable entities (a personal soul, a cosmos, and a supreme being ) implicit in the fact of a subject and an object of knowledge, and in the need for some principle uniting them. Compare ideal of pure reason.

Word History and Origins

Origin of idea of pure reason¹

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

The third idea of pure reason, containing the hypothesis of a being which is valid merely as a relative hypothesis, is that of the one and all-sufficient cause of all cosmological series, in other words, the idea of God.

From Project Gutenberg

On the other hand, as in the practical use of the understanding we have only to do with action and practice according to rules, an idea of pure reason can always be given really in concreto, although only partially, nay, it is the indispensable condition of all practical employment of reason.

From Project Gutenberg