A Dictionary of Philosophy, Third Edition
. Primarily, an argument which shows of some proportion, not that it is true but that it must be assumed to be true if some sphere of thought or discourse, especially an indispensable sphere, is to be possible. An early example is Aristotle’s argument that the law of contradiction cannot be proved, since any proof involves it, but that it must be assumed by anyone who asserts anything at all, and therefore by anyone asserting that the law is false. Kant thought such arguments could also justify non-formal conditions of objective thought (his CATEGORIES). The law of contradiction is a formal condition: see FORM.
Since Kant, transcendental arguments have been popular as a weapon against various kinds of sceptic. The sceptic, it is claimed, cannot state his position without assuming what he is claiming to be sceptical of. His position is therefore parasitic on that of his opponent.
However, there is much dispute about exactly how transcendental arguments work, how they are to be distinguished from other kinds of argument, how many kinds of them there are, and what sort of things they can be used to establish. They may concern not only whether propositions are true, but whether terms are meaningful, whether concepts have application or usefulness, whether argu-ments are valid, and whether things of a certain kind exist though we cannot construct instances of those kinds.
Transcendental arguments are perhaps a strengthened form of PARADIGM CASE ARGUMENTS. A transcendental argument for something like the legitimacy of INDUCTION would say that a whole sphere of our thought or language presupposes its legitimacy, whether or not we have even heard of induction. A paradigm case argument for it points simply to the fact that we regard some arguments as legitimate inductive ones.
Aristotle, Metaphysics, book 4 (or Г), chapter 4.
P.Bieri, R.-P.Horstmann and L.Krüger (eds), Transcendental Arguments and Science: Essays in Epistemology, Reidel, 1979. (Essays, with comments, on nature of transcendental arguments, and their bearing on how far science could attain to absolute truth.)
A.P.Griffiths, J.J.MacIntosh, ‘Transcendental arguments’, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, supplementary vol., 1969. (Griffiths defends them with examples. MacIntosh is critical.)
R.Rorty, ‘Verificationism and transcendental arguments’, Nous, 1971. (Moderate defence, but stressing limitations. M.S.Gram, ‘Transcendental arguments’, ibid., is relevant but difficult.)
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