Kant’s Ontological Phenomenalism

Abstract Immanuel Kant’s oft-repeated statement that physical objects are mere representations has given rise to various phenomenalist interpretations. Here I understand phenomenalism to be the view that physical objects are actual or possible perceptions. I argue for a novel phenomenalist interpretation: for Kant a physical object is nothing but the sum of actual and possible perceptions that agree with its empirical concept. I argue that this interpretation is supported by the textual evidence and that this interpretation is not vulnerable to objections commonly made against phenomenalist interpretations. I also argue that the textual evidence provides more support for this interpretation than it does for certain other phenomenalist interpretations.