传统哲学史教材将近代哲学概括为认识论哲学, 然而, 在认识论架构中如何理解近代理性主义者的形而上学追求?近代理性主义者面临的一个深刻的难题是: 在接受机械论世界观的同时如何确保人的意志自由。为解决这一难题, 斯宾诺莎和莱布尼茨的努力方向是去除空间的绝对客观性, 使广延世界降为仅具有次等客观性的呈现于人的认识之前的现象世界, 于是人就有可能超越现象世界的因果必然之链而达到真正的自由。最终, 康德明确地表达了这一难题, 而斯宾诺莎和莱布尼茨的努力方向也以一种完美的形式完成于康德哲学中。

Traditional textbooks on the history of philosophy have generalized modern philosophy as an epistemological philosophy.However, how to understand a metaphysical pursuit of modern rationalists in a pure epistemological frame? A profound problem met by rationalists is: how to insure freedom of human will at the same time of accepting a mechanistic world view?To solve the problem, both Spinoza and Leibniz choose to throw away absolute objectivity of space, debasing the extensional world into a phenomenal world presented to human knowledge which has just a kind of secondary objectivity.As a result, man is able to surpass the necessary chain of causality of the phenomenal world so as to arrive at true freedom.Finally, Kant exhibits this puzzlement, and efforts of Spinoza and Leibniz are realized in Kant's philosophy in a perfect way.