What term describes: “The view that what we know is conditioned by the structure and limits of the human mind, so things cannot be known as they are in themselves.”

Explanation

The correct option is (d) Kantianism. The statement describes the core view associated with Immanuel Kant: human knowledge is shaped by the mind’s innate structures (such as categories and forms of intuition), and therefore we cannot know “things-in-themselves” (noumena) exactly as they are independently of our cognition. Copyright © 2026 Adda247 In Kant’s philosophy, we know phenomena (things as they appear to us) because our mind organizes experience. But noumena remain beyond direct human knowledge. Hence, the view that our knowledge is conditioned by the limits and structure of the human mind is best termed Kantianism. Why other options are incorrect: Option (a) Empiricism: Emphasizes knowledge from sensory experience, but does not centrally claim the mind’s a priori structures limit knowledge of things-in-themselves in Kant’s sense. Option (b) Phenomenalism: A view that objects are reducible to perceptions/appearances; related in theme, but the specific “limits of the mind” and “things in themselves” formulation is characteristically Kantian. Option (c) Idealism: Broadly holds that reality is in some way mind-dependent; too general and not the precise doctrine described. So the correct answer is (d)