System of Transcendental Idealism

...must never be viewed original: "nie [...] anzuſehen haben" as anything other than the ground of harmony between the subjective and objective aspects of action. It must indeed be conceived of as an absolute identity; however, to imagine this as a substantial or personal being The author is likely defending against accusations that his philosophy either turns God into a mere "thing" (substantial) or treats God too anthropomorphically (personal). would be no better than reducing it to a mere abstractum; a purely theoretical concept devoid of reality (Abſtractum)—an opinion that could only be attributed to idealism through the grossest misunderstanding.

Regarding the principles of teleology, the reader will doubtless see for themselves that they provide the only way to explain the coexistence of mechanism; the view of nature as a system of cause-and-effect like a machine (Mechanismus) with purposiveness; the appearance of design or "goal-orientedness" in living things (Zweckmäſsigkeit) in nature in a comprehensible manner.

--- Finally, regarding the doctrines of the philosophy of art, which brings the whole work to a close, the author asks those who might have a particular interest in them,