Kant's distinction between theoretical and practical knowledge

Abstract

Kant divides philosophy into two branches, theoretical and practical, which he regards as two different sorts of knowledge. With the aim of reaching a clearer understanding of Kant’s conception of practical knowledge, this paper attempts, first, to locate a single generic conception of knowledge that figures in the concept of practical as well as that of theoretical knowledge, and, second, to determine how practical knowledge specifically differs from theoretical. Along the way, Kant’s distinction is compared and contrasted with the familiar contemporary view that cognitive and desiderative representations differ in virtue of a difference in “direction of fit”.