The possibility of such a possession, thus conceived,
cannot, however, be proved or comprehended in itself, because it is
a rational conception for which no empirical perception can be
furnished; but it follows as an immediate consequence from the
postulate that has been enunciated. For, if it is necessary to act
according to that juridical principle, the rational or intelligible
condition of a purely juridical possession must also be possible. It
need astonish no one, then, that the theoretical aspect of the
principles of the external mine and thine is lost from view in the
rational sphere of pure intelligence and presents no extension of
knowledge; for the conception of freedom upon which they rest does not
admit of any theoretical deduction of its possibility, and it can only
be inferred from the practical law of reason, called the categorical
imperative, viewed as a fact.
7. Application of the Principle of the Possibility of
an External Mine and Thine to Objects of Experience.
The conception of a purely juridical possession is not an
empirical conception dependent on conditions of space and time, and
yet it has practical reality. As such it must be applicable to objects
of experience, the knowledge of which is independent of the conditions
of space and time.
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