Literary notes about transcendental (AI summary)
The term “transcendental” in literature is employed to explain ideas that exceed the realm of mere sensory experience, serving as a bridge between empirical reality and the underlying a priori structures of thought. For instance, in Kant’s philosophical investigations, it labels the frameworks of pure thought—ranging from logic and aesthetics to dialectic—that set the conditions for human cognition and experience [1, 2, 3, 4]. This usage extends beyond metaphysics into ethical and political domains where reason’s foundational principles inform public life and moral order [5, 6]. Other thinkers harness the term to evoke a sense of aspiration toward ideals or states of being that lie beyond conventional understanding, imbuing their work with a quality of profound abstraction that challenges limits and invites deeper reflection [7, 8, 9].