Kant on Relational Properties and Real Changes

In this paper, I argue that Kant’s phenomena, though consisting in a network of relations, can nonetheless be efficacious and give rise to real changes. I begin by examining why intrinsic properties seem necessary to account for real changes. I then clarify some key concepts in the debate on relational properties and identify Kant’s spatial sense of relationality. This spatial sense, I argue, provides the basis for identifying a subset of empirical properties as 'comparatively intrinsic', preserving intrinsicness while being fully relational. I conclude by showing that real changes can occur in the phenomenal realm when they concern comparatively intrinsic properties of objects.