This volume aims to make a significant contribution to the debate surrounding the renaissance of Kant studies in the last few decades, with a particular emphasis upon some 'problems of reason'. Like no other, Kant covered the entire breadth of the modern debate concerning the concept of reason and its forms. Accordingly, despite the range of topics this volume inevitably deals with, Immanuel Kant remains the common point of reference for all contributions. The volume is divided into two sections. The first section is dedicated to Kant's philosophy in particular and its relationship with the philosophies of Kant's predecessors. From the perspective of the history of philosophy, interpretations of the significance of different philosophical traditions concerning Kant's thought will be given, and of the relationship of Kant's thought to the problems of reason with which Kant and his predecessors dealt. The second section is dedicated to the legacy of Kant's philosophy. The relevance of the concept of rationality for the genesis and systematics of post-Kantian ideas of rationality will be discussed, and the potential of Kant's critical philosophy - for contemporary thought as well - will be examined.

Kant's Politics in Context is the first comprehensive contextual study of Kant's legal and political philosophy. It gives an account of the development of his thought before, during, and after the French revolution. Reidar Maliks argues that Kant provided a philosophical defence of the revolution's republican ideals while aiming to avoid the twin dangers of anarchy and despotism. Central to this was a concept of equal freedom, constituted by legal rights and duties within a state. The close connection between freedom and the rule of law accounts for the centrality of the state in Kants thought. That Kant idealized the public sphere is well known, but that he intentionally developed his own philosophy in polemical essays and pamphlets aimed for a wide audience has not been fully appreciated. Maliks shows how our understanding of Kant's political philosophy can be enriched through paying attention to the discussions he sparked during the 1790swhere radical followers including Fichte, Erhard, and Bergk clashed with conservative critics such as Rehberg, Möser, and Gentz. This book provides fresh knowledge about a foundational moment for modern political thought and offers a new perspective on Kant's central political concepts, including freedom, rights, citizenship, revolution, and war.

Detailed exploration of the Transcendental Dialectic, in which Kant uncovers the sources of metaphysics in human reason.

Provides English translations of texts that form the essential background to Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.

Immanuel Kant famously said that he was awoken from his "dogmatic slumbers," and led to question the possibility of metaphysics, by David Hume's doubts about causation. Because of this, many philosophers have viewed Hume's influence on Kant as limited to metaphysics. More recently, some philosophers have questioned whether even Kant's metaphysics was really motivated by Hume. In Knowledge, Reason, and Taste, renowned Kant scholar Paul Guyer challenges both of these views. He argues that Kant's entire philosophy--including his moral philosophy, aesthetics, and teleology, as well as his metaphysics--can fruitfully be read as an engagement with Hume. In this book, the first to describe and assess Hume's influence throughout Kant's philosophy, Guyer shows where Kant agrees or disagrees with Hume, and where Kant does or doesn't appear to resolve Hume's doubts. In doing so, Guyer examines the progress both Kant and Hume made on enduring questions about causes, objects, selves, taste, moral principles and motivations, and purpose and design in nature. Finally, Guyer looks at questions Kant and Hume left open to their successors.

This 1788 work, based on belief in the immortality of the soul, established Kant as a vindicator of the truth of Christianity. It offers the most complete statement of his theory of free will.

Kurt Mosser argues that reading Kant's Critique of Pure Reason as an argument for such a logic of experience makes more defensible many of Kant's most controversial claims, and makes more accessible Kant's notoriously difficult text.

Traces the development of Kant's views on free will from earlier writings through the three Critiques and beyond.

Kant’s "Critique of Pure Reason" is so outstanding among modern philosophical works, that it can be termed "the" foundation of modern philosophy. Schopenhauer termed it "the most important book ever to have been written in Europe." Otfried Höffe guides the reader through the "Critique" one step at a time, expounding Kant’s thoughts, submitting them to an interpretation and drawing a summary conclusion, placing the work and its topics within the context of its modern successors. A "critical" interpretation of Kant’s text reveals that he had something to say on many discussions that are said to have originated after his death. Reducing his argumentation to its central tenets, it can be made stronger and applicable to current problems. Kant’s eventual concern, however, even when writing theoretical philosophy, lay with the practical. Elaborating this concern and its connection to Kant’s theoretical philosophy is a prime tenet of this book.

The humanity formulation of Kant's Categorical Imperative demands that we treat humanity as an end in itself. Because this principle resonates with currently influential ideals of human rights and dignity, contemporary readers often find it compelling, even if the rest of Kant's moral philosophy leaves them cold. Moreover, some prominent specialists in Kant's ethics have recently turned to the humanity formulation as the most theoretically central and promising principle of Kant'sethics. Nevertheless, it has received less attention than many other aspects of Kant's ethics. Richard Dean offers the most sustained and systematic examination of the humanity formulation to date. He presents an original analysis of what it means to treat humanity as an end in itself, and examinesthe implications both for Kant scholarship and for practical guidance on specific moral issues.