Virtually every important philosophical tradition    has its followers, its historical discussions,    some distinct interpretations of the same subjects, and its renewings in terms of up-to-date approaches. So the Kantian Tradition. There was, since Kant's time, several reactions and counter-reactions to the Transcendental Idealism, but the presence of the Kantianism as one of the most important philosophical currents was notorious until the beginnings of the 20th century. In the 20th century, nonetheless, due to some causes, the philosophical spotlight ran away from Kantianism and began to highlight different interests. Other great philosophical currents were born or became firmed and established since the first decades of the century. There was also a revolution in physics and mathematics, radical economical changes took place and several historical factors also contributed to bring to the center of the scenery discussions around the marxism, the existentialism, the phenomenology, the analytical philosophy, the mathematical logic, the hegelianism, to mention only the leading currents.   Discussions around the Transcendental Idealism never died, of course, because it is always possible to indicate some important book on the subject all over the time, as well as to point out strong influences in the majority of the philosophical schools. But the question here is that the very Kantianism was declared defeated by science itself early in the first half of our century , a kind of statement that was never heard before, and that was propagated by such names as Werner Heisenberg and Karl Popper.

In spite of this, in the last two or maybe three decades, we are also observing both a renewing and a recuperation of the Transcendental Idealism, particularly through the analytical philosophy of language. This new interesting approach is mainly characterized by an intensive dialog with the present-day philosophical currents.   A witness of this fact is a several authors book called Transcendental Arguments and Science BIERI, P., HORTSMANN, R.-P., KRÜGER, L. (eds.). Kluwer Academic Press, 1979. In its many articles published by thinkers proceeding from different areas of science and philosophy there is a vast range of endorsed opinions about the situation of the Kantianism before science. Another important book which traces the Kantianism situation today and has also a panoramic view of the last decades discusssions in its introductory chapter is HENRY ALLISON's Kant's Transcendental Idealism, Yale U. Press, 1983. Both are important witnesses of the Kantianism recuperation these last years, despite the opinions of some authors like Richard Rorty.   Inside this scenery I would like to mention here specially two thinkers who impressed me by their originality in the presentation of what each one of them interprets as the best contemporary reading of the a priori conditions of human knowledge: Karl-Otto Apel and Zeljko Loparic. I think the works of these two authors can indirectly show that the transcendental approach in philosophy can be participating vigorously of all important discussions of the present without falling into difficulties. Next: click on the button "Apel".