---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is this discovery of A5 Active Knower…"
description: "\"“It is this discovery of A5 Active Knower that separates Kant from all previous thinkers. Since reality is at least partially determined by Consciousne..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/lee-braver-14788_consciousness_it-is-this-discovery-of-a5-active-knower_2466112.jpg"
---

#  It is this discovery of A5 Active Knower that separates…

![“It is this discovery of A5 Active Knower that separates Kant from all previous thinkers. Since reality is at least partially determined by Consciousness, and since Consciousness’ goal is to understand reality, it can only fulfill its goal by studying itself. Instead of directly or immediately…” quote by Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/lee-braver-14788_consciousness_it-is-this-discovery-of-a5-active-knower_2466112.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/lee-braver-14788_consciousness_it-is-this-discovery-of-a5-active-knower_2466112.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/lee-braver-14788_consciousness_it-is-this-discovery-of-a5-active-knower_2466112.jpg)

> ““It is this discovery of A5 Active Knower that separates Kant from all previous thinkers. Since reality is at least partially determined by Consciousness, and since Consciousness’ goal is to understand reality, it can only fulfill its goal by studying itself. Instead of directly or immediately studying independent objects, we must study consciousness to see how it constitutes the objects; worldly inquiries actually turn out to be studying the mind’s organization of the world.””

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Kant sees consciousness as partly shaping reality, so understanding reality requires studying how consciousness constructs objects.

**In simple terms:** To know the world, study the mind that perceives it.

Key Takeaway

Explore self‑knowledge before external analysis.

Themes

philosophy consciousness epistemology

Mood

thoughtful analytical

Type

philosophical academic

When to use this quote

- academic research
- psychology
- education
- personal introspection

Key Concepts

Kantianism constructivism self‑reflection

Questions to Reflect On

- How does self‑study change your view of external facts?
- Can consciousness be fully known?

A Different Perspective

Assumes consciousness fully determines reality, which may overstate its role.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Metaphysics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysics/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/)

## Related quotes

> [Life is not determined by consciousness, but consciousness by life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/life-is-not-determined-by-consciousness-but-consciousness-by-life/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [I suggest that just as self-consciousness is the goal for all the subhuman forms of life, and as group consciousness, or the consciousness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-bailey/i-suggest-that-just-as-self-consciousness-is-the-goal-for-all-the/)

[Alice Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-bailey/)

> [When I find that I am more conscious, it's because I'm in tune with a higher reality. When I'm less conscious, it's because I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goswami-kriyananda/when-i-find-that-i-am-more-conscious-it-s-because-i-m-in-tune-with-a/)

[Goswami Kriyananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goswami-kriyananda/)

> [This universe is formed out of both consciousness forces and matter. While the study of matter has been the domain of traditional science, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shriram-sharma/this-universe-is-formed-out-of-both-consciousness-forces-and-matter/)

Shriram Sharma

> [I became really interested in the study of consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-grey/i-became-really-interested-in-the-study-of-consciousness/)

[Alex Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-grey/)

> [The study of consciousness that can extend beyond the body is extremely important for the issue of survival, since it is this part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislav-grof/the-study-of-consciousness-that-can-extend-beyond-the-body-is/)

[Stanislav Grof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislav-grof/)

> [“These three ingredients—focusing on conscious access, manipulating conscious perception, and carefully recording introspection—have transformed the study of consciousness into a normal experimental science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislas-dehaene/these-three-ingredients-focusing-on-conscious-access-manipulating/)

[Stanislas Dehaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislas-dehaene/)

> [On the whole, the psychological work of the last quarter of the nineteenth century emphasized the study of consciousness to the neglect of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/on-the-whole-the-psychological-work-of-the-last-quarter-of-the/)

[Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/)

> [In the study of consciousness you cannot explain anything verbally. You can only allude to, point in a general direction of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-the-study-of-consciousness-you-cannot-explain-anything-verbally/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [“One of the ways that Heidegger radicalizes Kant is by showing the “subject” to be active in multiple ways rather than limiting it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/one-of-the-ways-that-heidegger-radicalizes-kant-is-by-showing-the/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“Organizing one’s system around the A5 Active Knower is an essential feature of the Kantian Paradigm: the examination of anything else, including history, must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/organizing-one-s-system-around-the-a5-active-knower-is-an-essential/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“This is the way in which everyday Dasein always is: when I open the door, for instance, I use the latch. The achieving of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/this-is-the-way-in-which-everyday-dasein-always-is-when-i-open-the/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“Here is how A5 and A6 come together: A5 Active Knower states that consciousness contributes features of the mind to experience and A6 Plural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/here-is-how-a5-and-a6-come-together-a5-active-knower-states-that/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“The Kantian Paradigm embraces what I am calling the Empirical Directive by changing the conception of the self from a substance like Descartes’ thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/the-kantian-paradigm-embraces-what-i-am-calling-the-empirical/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“Heidegger connects the linchpin of the Kantian Paradigm—A5 Active Knower, that is, the idea that the subject organizes experience—to what he considers to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/heidegger-connects-the-linchpin-of-the-kantian-paradigm-a5-active/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

## More by Lee Braver

> [“Heidegger connects the linchpin of the Kantian Paradigm—A5 Active Knower, that is, the idea that the subject organizes experience—to what he considers to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/heidegger-connects-the-linchpin-of-the-kantian-paradigm-a5-active/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“R5 Passive Knower: “If, whenever I have to make a judgement, I restrain my will so that it extends to what the intellect clearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/r5-passive-knower-if-whenever-i-have-to-make-a-judgement-i-restrain/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“What is as a whole” loses R1 Independence to become A1 Dependent when man becomes A5 subject, that is, the one who determines reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/what-is-as-a-whole-loses-r1-independence-to-become-a1-dependent-when/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“Starting from Descartes’ commitment to a few absolutely certain innate ideas and reason’s ability to determine some facts about reality a priori, Leibniz ended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/starting-from-descartes-commitment-to-a-few-absolutely-certain-innate/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“Organizing one’s system around the A5 Active Knower is an essential feature of the Kantian Paradigm: the examination of anything else, including history, must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/organizing-one-s-system-around-the-a5-active-knower-is-an-essential/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“Nietzsche attacks the myth of a “pure” objective knowledge that could hover over reality without being implicated in it, that could, without prejudice or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/nietzsche-attacks-the-myth-of-a-pure-objective-knowledge-that-could/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“A5 Active Knower: “The order and regularity in the appearances, which we entitle nature, we ourselves introduce. We could never find them in appearances,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/a5-active-knower-the-order-and-regularity-in-the-appearances-which-we/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“One of the ways that Heidegger radicalizes Kant is by showing the “subject” to be active in multiple ways rather than limiting it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/one-of-the-ways-that-heidegger-radicalizes-kant-is-by-showing-the/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“the seed for the reconciliation can be found in the very idea that forms the core of the Critique of Pure Reason and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/the-seed-for-the-reconciliation-can-be-found-in-the-very-idea-that/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“Nietzsche wants us to become aware of the fact that we are A5 Active Knowers, that we are always already organizing experience, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/nietzsche-wants-us-to-become-aware-of-the-fact-that-we-are-a5-active/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“Russell simply could not swallow the notion that the mind is not R5 Passive but affects what is known—the very centerpiece of Kant’s Copernican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/russell-simply-could-not-swallow-the-notion-that-the-mind-is-not-r5/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“If mathematical knowledge is to have legitimacy, the mind must passively discover it (R5) without affecting it in any way; “mere delusion” results from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/if-mathematical-knowledge-is-to-have-legitimacy-the-mind-must/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“Patiently following after nature ultimately enables us, in Descartes’ words, to “make ourselves, as it were, the lords and masters of nature” (PWD 1:142–43).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/patiently-following-after-nature-ultimately-enables-us-in-descartes/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“We saw in the preceding section how Heidegger identifies Plato’s transformation of A2 Un-concealment Truth into R2 Correspondence Truth with its concomitant R4 Bivalence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/we-saw-in-the-preceding-section-how-heidegger-identifies-plato-s/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

> [“The overarching issue is the idea that “the mind is in some sense creative. . . . Some such theory is essential to every form of Kantianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/the-overarching-issue-is-the-idea-that-the-mind-is-in-some-sense/)

[Lee Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

[Explore all 45 Lee Braver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/)

## More Consciousness quotes

> [“You're never alone if you're with your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-armond-powell/you-re-never-alone-if-you-re-with-your-soul/)

[Gerard Armond Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-armond-powell/)

> [“I now argue that entry into Upper Palaeolithic caves was probably seen as virtually indistinguishable from entry into the mental vortex that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/i-now-argue-that-entry-into-upper-palaeolithic-caves-was-probably/)

[James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/)

> [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/)

[Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/)

> [“People and situations always show us what we need to see and learn about ourselves, and when we take responsibility for our own feelings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-mada-dalian/people-and-situations-always-show-us-what-we-need-to-see-and-learn/)

[Eliza Mada Dalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-mada-dalian/)

> [With the realization of God comes all power. If the little wave knew that behind it is the great ocean, it could say, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/with-the-realization-of-god-comes-all-power-if-the-little-wave-knew/)

[Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/)

> [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/)

[Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/)

> [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/)

[David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/)

> [“Entropy is the normal state of consciousness—a condition that is neither useful nor enjoyable. To avoid this condition, people are naturally eager to fill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/entropy-is-the-normal-state-of-consciousness-a-condition-that-is/)

[Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/)

> [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. Live with applied consciousness, prosperity will break through the walls, flood you with it. You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/)

[Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/)

> [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/)

[Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/)

> [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [So many people are passive participants in their very short time of having a consciousness, and those who aren't inspire me. Like Malala Yousafzai…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-gelulla/so-many-people-are-passive-participants-in-their-very-short-time-of/)

Dylan Gelulla

> [Floating in and out of consciousness...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/floating-in-and-out-of-consciousness/)

[Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/)

> [“The vision teller tells the vision to unguarded minds' of prey. The programmed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-f-hodge/the-vision-teller-tells-the-vision-to-unguarded-minds-of-prey-the/)

[T.F. Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-f-hodge/)

> [Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between the stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/human-freedom-involves-our-capacity-to-pause-between-the-stimulus-and/)

[Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/)

[Browse all 6,062 Consciousness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It is this discovery of A5 Active Knower that separates Kant from all previous thinkers. Since reality is at least partially determined by Consciousness, and since Consciousness’ goal is to understand reality, it can only fulfill its goal by studying itself. Instead of directly or immediately studying independent objects, we must study consciousness to see how it constitutes the objects; worldly inquiries actually turn out to be studying the mind’s organization of the world.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lee Braver"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/it-is-this-discovery-of-a5-active-knower-that-separates-kant-from-all/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Consciousness"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/it-is-this-discovery-of-a5-active-knower-that-separates-kant-from-all/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/lee-braver-14788_consciousness_it-is-this-discovery-of-a5-active-knower_2466112.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/lee-braver-14788_consciousness_it-is-this-discovery-of-a5-active-knower_2466112.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f48/lee-braver-14788_consciousness_it-is-this-discovery-of-a5-active-knower_2466112.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is this discovery of A5 Active Knower that separates Kant from all previous thinkers. Since reality is at…” — Lee Braver",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Lee Braver",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-braver/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It is this discovery of A5...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/it-is-this-discovery-of-a5-active-knower-that-separates-kant-from-all/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-braver/it-is-this-discovery-of-a5-active-knower-that-separates-kant-from-all/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
