キラリティの起源と生活世界における右と左の方向の意味 --「カントの問題」のために

Abstract

The concept “Chirality” is the main concept in the Chemistry. The word “chiral” or “Chirality” comes from the Greek word “cheir” (χειρ) which means “hand”. The chirality is very important concept in the modern “chemistry”. William Thomson, Lord Kelvin gave the name “chirality” to the phenomenon that the right hand does not be combined with the left hand. This phenomenon could appear in the chemical dimension of crystal. This phenomenon is very famous among philosophers. Immanuel Kant wrote before his main work, Kritik derreinen Vernunft, “Von dem ersten Grunde des Unterschiedes der Gegenden im Raume, 1768“and after his main work „Was heisst: Sich im Denken orientieren?“. His intention lies in the criticism of Leibniz theory of Space. In Prolegomena paragraph 13, Kant gave up the conceptual solution of this problem, but we can rely on the feeling or intuition. “Chirality” derives from the Greek word “kheir” (χειρ) which means “hand” because it is a familiar example of mirror-objects that cannot be superimposed on one another; thus, it means that one object can be easily distinguished from it’s opposite: left from right. The term was coined by William Thomson, better known as Lord Kelvin, in 1893. This geometrical concept is very important for modern chemistry in order to distinguish two molecules. But the phenomenon has been recognized by philosophers long before Lord Kelvin’s definition. It is well-know that Immanuel Kant wrote about the phenomenon in his Critique of Pure Reason (1781/1787) (Kritik der reinen Vernunft), but he had already addressed the issue in his pre-Critical writings, notably in “On the first ground of the distinction of regions of space” (1768), where “region” bears a directional character (Von dem ersten Grunde des Unterschiedes der Gegenden im Raume). In this earlier work, he asks, “What does it mean to orient oneself in thinking? (Was heisst: Sich im Denken orientieren?). His intention is to criticize Leibniz‘ theory of Space. In Prolegomena, paragraph 13, Kant abandons a conceptual solution of this problem, claiming we can rely on feeling or intuition.