clusion is supposed to be true a priori, while the premisses contain facts that can only be verified a posteriori.What is contradictory is that the conclusion in such case is a product of induction but is presented as a product of deduction. In addition to this, the traditional aim of metaphysics has been to uncover the impossible, that is to uncover knowledge concerning the thing in itself instead of knowledge about things as they represent themselves in our physical reality. In order to preserve its status of apodictic validity and truth, essential or metaphysical knowledge must therefore refer to some object other than the object of examination, whereby metaphysical knowledge removes itself even further from the empirical objects primarily examined, and hence even further from any pretensions of veracity. Apart from the purely theoretical problems, the practicality of metaphysical knowledge can also be called into questioned, as essential knowledge is primarily aimed at uncovering the philosophical reason for a certain physical thing’s existence, its “form” or its “essence”, rather than producing knowledge about the physical things in question. Metaphysics therefore threatens to become purely speculative, rather than practical and thus extending human knowledge. (See also part VII). Apart from his critique of subjectivism and historical metaphysics Hägerström also leveled critique against modern theories of knowledge such as sensualism, sensualistic philosophy, which he considered to be the enemy, the privation of science.353 According to Hägerström, sensualism makes it impossible to determine concepts by means of empirical observations. Sensualism defines knowledge as being nothing more than a collection of unprocessed sensory-data. Knowledge therefore lacks subjective content and formal structure, thereby rendering conceptualization ima ca l l f o r s c i e n t i f i c p u r i t y 155 6 . 4 sensual i st ic/subj ect ivi st ic phi losophy 353 Hägerström, “Relativitetsteori och kunskapsfilosofi,” pp. 226-230. See also Hägerström, Selbstdarstellungen, pp. 33-34.
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