Product Description
This is the most complete English edition of Kant's correspondence that has ever been compiled. The letters are concerned with philosophical and scientific topics but many also treat personal, historical, and cultural matters. On one level the letters chart Kant's philosophical development. On another level they expose quirks and foibles, and reveal a good deal about Kant's friendships and philosophical battles with some of the prominent thinkers of the time: Herder, Hamann, Mendelssohn, and Fichte. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first English translation of all of Kant's writings on moral and political philosophy collected in a single volume. No other collection competes with the comprehensiveness of this one. As well as Kant's most famous moral and political writings, the Groundwork to the Metaphysics of Morals, the Critique of Practical Reason, the Metaphysics of Morals, and Toward Perpetual Peace, the volume includes shorter essays and reviews, some of which have never been translated before. There is also an English-German and German-English glossary of key terms. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Bad Binding
This is a very good collection of Kant's practical writings, but I strongly advise against buying the hardcover edition.The binding is very poor quality and it will inevitably crack the moment you open the book (I exchanged my first copy after it broke, but the second did the same).In short, if you're going to buy this book, buy the paperback edition and don't waste your money on the hardcover edition.The paper is of better quality in the paperback, and you won't have spent three times as much money for a poorer quality book.

An Up and A Down
This is a great collection, especially for any student.It is by far the most complete set of translations of Kant's work available to the English speaking audience.Plus, it is a tribute to Mary J. Gregor that this edition exists.That Allen Wood inserted a dedication to her shows the importance of her life's work for anyone interested in Kant's ethical theory.

There is, however, one thing that I, as a student of philosophy, found troubling about this edition--it lacks adequate indexs.Don't get me wrong, it has indexes, but they are not nearly complete enough.

If you need a convenient, relatively light-weight volume of Kant's ethical writings, go for this edition.But if you are interested in in depth analysis of any of the texts, I'd go for the editions pubilished in the Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy set.The indexes here are much, much more complete.These editions also include thorough and detailed introductions but such respected Kant scholars as Christine Korsgaard and Roger Sullivan.

The Definitive Edition of Kant's Practical Works
This volume should become the indispensable English-language edition of Kant's practical works.The translations contained in this edition are top-notch, which is not to say that I agree with all the decisions made by Mary Gregor, the primary translator.However, unlike, say, the Cambridge Edition translations of the First and Third Critiques, Gregor's translations are arguably categorically better than all other English translations.I personally do not believe that to be the case, but the point is that such a case can plausibly be made, whereas it cannot be said with equal plausibility that the Guyer-Wood translation of the First Critique is categorically better than the Kemp Smith translation (I know others would beg to differ, but this is not the place to take up my disagrements with them; I would merely stress that I do not deny that Guyer-Wood have made many improvements over Kemp Smith).

Furthermore, the inclusion of The Metaphysics of Morals in its entirety ought to alleviate a certain one-sidedness in most treatments of Kant in introductory survey courses of the history of moral/political philosophy.These courses typically concentrate on the Grounding and the shorter essays--understandably so, given time contraints.Occasionally the Second Critique will be touched upon.Nor is this one-sidedness confined to survey or even advanced undergraduate courses.I have taken three graduate seminars on Kant and one on German Idealism in three departments at two different universities, and not once did I ever read The Metaphysics of Morals in its entirety.The student who wishes to gain a complete picture of Kant will be glad to have this important work included.

The convenience of having good translations of foundational works, unabridged and collected in a single volume, cannot be overstated.Every serious student of Kant, German Idealism, or moral or practical philosophy ought to own this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Kant's views on logic and logical theory play an important part in his critical writings, especially in the Critique of Pure Reason. This volume includes three previously untranslated transcripts of Kant's logic lectures: the Blomberg Logic (1770s); the Vienna Logic supplemented by the recently discovered Hechsel Logic (1780s); and the Dohna-Wundlacken Logic (1790s). Also included is a new translation of the Jäsche Logic, compiled at Kant's request from his lectures and published in 1800. Hb ISBN (1992): 0-521-36013-7 ... Read more

Product Description
Anthropology, History, and Education contains all of Kant's major writings on human nature. Some of these works, which were published over a thirty-nine year period between 1764 and 1803, have never before been translated into English. Kant's question 'What is the human being?' is approached indirectly in his famous works on metaphysics, epistemology, moral and legal philosophy, aesthetics and the philosophy of religion, but it is approached directly in his extensive but less well-known writings on physical and cultural anthropology, the philosophy of history, and education which are gathered in the present volume. Kant repeatedly claimed that the question 'What is the human being?' should be philosophy's most fundamental concern, and Anthropology, History, and Education can be seen as effectively presenting his philosophy as a whole in a popular guise. ... Read more

Product Description
Immanuel Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals ranks alongside Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics as one of the most profound and influential works in moral philosophy ever written. In Kant's own words its aim is to search for and establish the supreme principle of morality, the categorical imperative. This edition presents the acclaimed translation of the text by Mary Gregor, together with an introduction by Christine M. Korsgaard that examines and explains Kant's argument. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

SLOW SHIPPING
This book out of 8 books i ordered was the last to come, after four weeks? i believe, slow slow slow shipping but great quality of a book

Golden Rule Ethicist
In the First Section of Kant's work, "From Common Rational Moral Cognition to Philosophical Moral Cognition," Kant spends some time discussing the will, its absolute nature, and the place of reason in governing this will.It is the purpose of reason, given to man by nature, to produce a will that is good in itself (12).Kant sees duty as the means to achieving this good will.Kant suggests that this makes good sense of Scripture's teaching to love our neighbor and even our enemy (15).Kant posits moral worth upon the principle of the volition.Here it must be emphasized (as Kant himself emphasizes) that the moral worthiness of duty lies not in its aim, but begins before expressions of duty even take place.This distinction between a priori and a posteriori worth will be one of Kant's main thrusts throughout his discussion of morals.He then follows this through to the conclusion that "I ought never to conduct myself except so that I could also will that my maxim [subjective principles] become a universal law."

In the Second Section, "Transition From Popular Philosophy to the Metaphysics of Morals," Kant begins by criticizing empiricism, which he believes has no basis whatsoever in the discussion (22).Kant pursues the objective track throughout this section as well, and in his discussion of imperatives explains the categorical imperative as "Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law."So it is consequently reciprocal.He points out that empiricism is not only unfit for contributions to morality but that it is also highly disadvantageous to the purity of morals (43).It is about this point that Kant increasingly discusses the "is/ought" contention - the notion of what expressions of morality ought to be, rather than what they often are (44).He presses upon the reader repeatedly, while nearing the end of this section, the importance of where the "ends" lies in the discussion - with the human being.Once he has set the groundwork for absolute morality he then builds upon it, circling back to square one and the discussion of duty (57).He then lays out some axioms: Autonomy of the will; Heteronomy of the will; and Division.While working out the implications of his contentions at the close of this section Kant makes a curious claim regarding the superiority of ontology over theology (60).

Lastly, in the Third Section, "From the Metaphysics of Morals to the Critique of Pure Practical Reason," Kant further fleshes out the anthropological coherence of his ethical system.Kant allows room for the divine, and a place for the divine is even found within his moral construct, perhaps this was as a consequence of absolutes being so foundational to his construct.

Understand Kantian morality, it is not easy
I read "The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals" for a graduate seminar in Ethics.Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804, lived a boring life.Never married, never moved from Konigsberg, and was extremely regular in his habits.He was the first philosopher that was an academic, university philosopher.He devoted his life to one aim, to move beyond the traditional dichotomy that existed in philosophy up to that time that structured the thinking in philosophy.That dichotomy was between rationalism and empiricism.Rationalist philosophers tried to show that we could understand the world by using reason this guarantees the indoubtitability of our knowledge, but leaves some serious questions about its practical content.On the other hand, empiricist had argued that of all our knowledge must be grounded in experience, we can't know anything without experience and empirical proof or evidence practical content.Thus, it means that we can be certain of so little.David Hume's skeptical outlook on human knowledge in general and his passion-based ethics in particular had such a penetrating effect on Kant, that he credits Hume with stirring him from his "dogmatic slumber."Kant thought Hume went too far in his empirical rationale by relegating reason to a subservient role in ethics.That is the problem with empirical philosophy, it sound good but, it turns out there is very little that you can really prove.Therefore, the rationalists always had an edge, they could say just "use reason, and trust us."This dichotomy left philosophy in a quandary, both approaches according to Kant had failed.Both are premised on the same mistake.Here is the problem; progress in philosophy according to Kant requires that we frame this epistemological problem in an entirely different way.This stirring caused Kant to write some of the most important works of philosophy; such as, "The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals."

A warning to the uninitiated, Kant is not easy to read; however, this work is one of his easier reads.In "The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals," Kant astutely observes how ordinary people speak about morality.He argues, ordinary people's views are presupposed about morality, that there is one supreme moral principle it is the "Categorical Imperative" which is discussed in section two of the book.In section one, he talks about value, and special regard or esteem we have for someone who does the right things.Sometimes, people do the right things for wrong reasons.He is interested in what has to be true for an action to have moral worth.He has a kind of criticism of Utilitarians.Utilitarians say you can talk about what is good, i.e., happiness, before talking about what is right or moral.For Kantians "right" comes prior to the question of what is good.One must bring morality in before talking about the good.Talent and ability is good if put to good use, it can also be bad; for example computer hackers creating "viruses."Only one thing is good in and of itself unconditionally, which is a good "will" which means the will of a person who wants to do the right thing.Even if the plan does not work out they still have good will.They desire to do the right thing because it is the right thing.

Kant 1st proposition is that action has moral worth only if it is done out of respect for duty.For example, if a shopkeeper is honest in an effort to look good to customers he did the right thing, but only in "conformity with duty."He acted out of inclination.If the shopkeeper is honest out of being nice or likes kids then his action is still done out of inclination because he "likes to do it," but his moral worth is less in the action.The shopkeeper who has moral worth is the one who is honest because it was the right thing to do.

Kant's 2nd proposition is that an action gets its moral worth from its "maxim."Maxim is a technical term for Kant; maxim is a kind of principle that explains why someone does something.Kant thinks that whenever we act on an action there always is some maxim that we are acting on.So you can think of a maxim as having the form:I will do A (some kind of action) in C (some set of circumstances) for P. (for some purpose).Now it is not as if normally when you act you formulate to yourself here is my maxim, here is what I am acting on.However, Kant thinks that when you do something there is some maxim that describes your choice.Therefore, Kant thinks there is an underlying maxim there, and it is this maxim Kant thinks that is the real decider about whether your action has moral worth or not.Only actions with the right maxim he thinks have moral worth.

Kant's3rd proposition is that duty is the necessity of acting out of respect for law, (not government law).Kant thinks that actions get there moral worth from being done out of respect for a "universal moral law" that is binding on all rational beings.This is the real clincher for Kant in the first section of his book.That actions have moral worth when the person who did the action did it because he or she thought that there is a moral law that commands them to do the action.For example, "I must obey that law, it is necessary; I have no choice but to obey the law."That notion of following the universal moral law is what gives the action, Kant thinks, its worth that is what makes it worthy of the special esteem he thinks we give actions when people have done them just because they thought they were right.

This is the setup for Kant's all important and famous "Categorical Imperative (CI)," which he argues applies to everyone.This is all in Section II of the book.We can deduce many rules from the categorical imperative.The (CI) is the only one fundamental principle of morality, but it can be formulated in a variety of different ways.Kant had three formulas of the (CI).All three formulas are a different way of wording the categorical imperative.The (CI) is a moral law that has to apply to all rational beings, regardless of what ends they have.

The 1st formula is the "Universal Law Formula," which Kant said that every action has a maxim.Whenever you do anything, there is some maxim, some subjective principle you are acting on and that we should not act on any maxim that we could not choose to become a universal law.Kant then goes on to say that still for every action, in addition to its maxim, there is also an end, every action has an end.J. S. Mill and Aristotle also say this.Kant says that if you have a (CI) there has to be an end that all rational beings see as a good end, this is mandatory.It cannot be some kind of effect of our actions, because the kinds of things we produce in the phenomenal world only have value because we care about them.It has to be an end that all rational beings must care about; it cannot be a utilitarian end, or one from consequences.If we value it as an end it has value, if we choose it as an end then there is a claim on others to see it as important as well, thus, this is a real mandatory end that humanity itself sees.Rational nature itself then has value.

The 2nd formula is "The Formula of Humanity" which states, I'm not just special because everyone thinks they are valuable.Can't treat other people as merely a means to an end.This gives one a claim to the help from other people.Slavery is an epitome of this formula as an example.It is wrong to treat people ONLY as a means to an end.(However, you are not using a grocery bagger as such because he gets paid).When you put the Universal Law Formula and Formula of Humanity together, you get another way of formulating the (CI).

The 3rd Formula is "The Kingdom of Ends Formula."We ought to be thinking of ourselves as legislators for a kingdom of people who are ends to themselves and for Kant that is what we are doing when we are acting morally.We should only act on maxims that can be laws for a community (Kingdom) of rational beings.Thus, we are both subjects and sovereigns in this community, because we make our own laws and then we must obey them.This is the reason Kant thinks that the (CI) is binding on all of us because we impose it on ourselves and make the laws, not binding just because somebody might punish us if we disobey.We already accept the categorical imperative according to Kant without thinking about it.We end up with the ideas of autonomy and motivation.We end up with the idea that reason alone must be capable of motivating us to act a certain way which for Kant means we have autonomy (self rule), (motivated by reason as opposed to desires), which gives us free will.We can only be bound by moral laws if we have this kind of autonomy, if we are motivated by reason, if we have in a sense a free will.Kant thinks it goes in the other direction as well, if we have a free will then we are bound by the (CI).

Thus, philosophers ask do we truly have free will?In addition, to what extent are we moved by causation?Kant says laws govern causation.One type of law is Newton's laws of motion, scientific laws.Philosophers debate the question is human actions like these laws.Can we predict human actions?Do our desires cause us to act in certain ways; can our actions be predetermined?Some say yes.Aristotle calls this "efficient causation."Some call them "laws of natural necessity."Given the way the natural world works, things have to happen in a certain way and the world is governed by certain laws.Kant says if we have a free will, then the laws that govern our choices are not going to be laws of natural necessity.If we have a free will, then our will or our practical reason will choose its own principles, its own laws to act on, and those will be the laws that will cause us to do certain things.If we have a free will, then our will chooses certain principles these must have form of a law for everyone; a universal law, this is the categorical imperative.Thus, for Kant, if we have free will then the (CI) is binding on us.Thus, Kant's ethical theory is regarded as the paradigm of deontological ethics.Deontological theories hold that actions can be made right or wrong by the kinds of acts they are, independent of their consequences.

Objections to Kant- If we do an action that has moral worth, what is our motivation?Our practical reason is our motivation according to Kant.We can also be motivated by desire, but desires hold no moral worth for Kant.This does not mean in non-moral situations we should not act on our desires like picking a flavor of soda.However, sometimes our reason and desires are at odds with moral worth like in the example of the shopkeeper motivation for being honest.So, what determines the case when we use reason or desire?Kant says reason is the same in everybody, but how can this be?Even Kant acknowledges that we cannot tell which motivation people or themselves moves them to act.Only through reason, he says do we have free will; we are not acting on free will when we act out of desire.Therefore, if people make a moral choice through desire and it is wrong, how can we hold them responsible, they were not acting out of free will.If this is true, we wind up not holding people responsible for their actions.

Status of animals for Kant- Only creatures with reason are morally significant.However, he was against animal cruelty mainly because it could cause a human to do bad things to other people.How would he treat the mentally handicapped?

I recommend you read this work slowly and repeat key passages for better comprehension.Kant's work is a must read for anyone interested in philosophy, and ethics.

Lies
Lies, lies, lies.The description for comments was, "Perfect!"Verbatim.One word.
This book was NOT perfect, in great shape, yes, but NOT perfect.There was writing all over the margins as well as a few highlighting marks, which all should have been disclosed.

One of the best books ever written.
If you want to read a book of significance, look no further.While it may be a difficult read it is one of the most influential and important books ever written. ... Read more

Product Description
This 2005 volume provides an extensive translation of the notes and fragments that survived Kant's death in 1804. These include marginalia, lecture notes, and sketches and drafts for his published works. They are important as an indispensable resource for understanding Kant's intellectual development and published works, casting fresh light on Kant's conception of his own philosophical methods and his relations to his predecessors, as well as on central doctrines of his work such as the theory of space, time and categories, the refutations of scepticism and metaphysical dogmatism, the theory of the value of freedom and the possibility of free will, the conception of God, the theory of beauty, and much more. ... Read more

Product Description
Collected here in this omnibus edition are Immanuel Kant's three most important works on the Metaphysics of Morals and Ethics. Included are Kant: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Introduction to the Metaphysic of Morals, and The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics. Kant's Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals is one of the most important works in modern moral philosophy. It belongs beside Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Hobbes. Here Kant sets out to articulate and defend the Categorical Imperative - the fundamental principle that underlies moral reasoning - and to lay the foundation for a comprehensive account of justice and human virtues. In Introduction to the Metaphysic of Morals Kant states: "All duties are either duties of right, that is, juridical duties, or duties of virtue, that is, ethical duties. Juridical duties are such as may be promulgated by external legislation; ethical duties are those for which such legislation is not possible." In The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics states: "If there exists on any subject a philosophy (that is, a system of rational knowledge based on concepts), then there must also be for this philosophy a system of pure rational concepts, independent of any condition of intuition, in other words, a metaphysic. It may be asked whether metaphysical elements are required also for every practical philosophy, which is the doctrine of duties, and therefore also for Ethics." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Understand Kantian ethics, it is not easy
I read this book for a graduate seminar on Ethics.In "The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals," Kant astutely observes how ordinary people speak about morality.He argues, ordinary people's views are presupposed about morality, that there is one supreme moral principle it is the "Categorical Imperative" which is discussed in section two of the book.In section one, he talks about value, and special regard or esteem we have for someone who does the right things.Sometimes, people do the right things for wrong reasons.He is interested in what has to be true for an action to have moral worth.He has a kind of criticism of Utilitarians.Utilitarians say you can talk about what is good, i.e., happiness, before talking about what is right or moral.For Kantians "right" comes prior to the question of what is good.One must bring morality in before talking about the good.Talent and ability is good if put to good use, it can also be bad; for example computer hackers creating "viruses."Only one thing is good in and of itself unconditionally, which is a good "will" which means the will of a person who wants to do the right thing.Even if the plan doesn't work out they still have good will.They desire to do the right thing because it is the right thing.

Kant argues that action has moral worth only if it is done out of respect for duty.For example, if a shopkeeper is honest in an effort to look good to customers he did the right thing, but only in "conformity with duty."He acted out of inclination.If the shopkeeper is honest out of being nice or likes kids then his action is still done out of inclination because he "likes to do it," but his moral worth is less in the action.The shopkeeper who has moral worth is the one who is honest because it was the right thing to do.

Kant's 2nd proposition is that an action gets its moral worth from its "maxim."Maxim is a technical term for Kant; maxim is a kind of principle that explains why someone does something.Kant thinks that whenever we act on an action there always is some maxim that we are acting on.So you can think of a maxim as having the form:I will do A (some kind of action) in C (some set of circumstances) for P. (for some purpose).Now it is not as if normally when you act you formulate to yourself here is my maxim, here is what I am acting on.However, Kant thinks that when you do something there is some maxim that describes your choice.Therefore, Kant thinks there is an underlying maxim there, and it is this maxim Kant thinks that is the real decider about whether your action has moral worth or not.Only actions with the right maxim he thinks have moral worth.

Kant's3rd proposition is that duty is the necessity of acting out of respect for law, (not government law).Kant thinks that actions get there moral worth from being done out of respect for a "universal moral law" that is binding on all rational beings.This is the real clincher for Kant in the first section of his book.That actions have moral worth when the person who did the action did it because he or she thought that there is a moral law that commands them to do the action.For example, "I must obey that law, it is necessary; I have no choice but to obey the law."That notion of following the universal moral law is what gives the action, Kant thinks, its worth that is what makes it worthy of the special esteem he thinks we give actions when people have done them just because they thought they were right.

This is the setup for Kant's all important and famous "categorical imperative which he argues applies to everyone.This is all in Section II.We can deduce many rules from the categorical imperative.The categorical imperative is the only one fundamental principle of morality, but it can be formulated in a variety of different ways.Kant had three formulas of the categorical imperative.All three formulas are a different way of wording the categorical imperative.The categorical imperative is a moral law that has to apply to all rational beings, regardless of what ends they have.

The 1st formula is the "Universal Law Formula," which Kant said that every action has a maxim.Whenever you do anything there is some maxim, some subjective principle you are acting on and that we shouldn't act on any maxim that we couldn't choose to become a universal law.Kant then goes on to say that still for every action, in addition to its maxim, there is also an end, every action has an end.Mill and Aristotle also say this.Kant says if you have a categorical imperative there has to be an end that all rational beings see as a good end, this is mandatory.It can't be some kind of effect of our actions, because the kinds of things we produce in the phenomenal world only have value because we care about them.It has to be an end that all rational beings must care about; it can't be a utilitarian end, or one from consequences.If we value it as an end it has value, if we choose it as an end then there is a claim on others to see it as important as well, thus, this is a real mandatory end that humanity itself sees.Rational nature itself then has value.

The 2nd formula is "The Formula of Humanity" which states, I'm not just special because everyone thinks they are valuable.Can't treat other people as merely a means to an end.This gives one a claim to the help from other people.Slavery is an epitome of this formula as an example.It is wrong to treat people ONLY as a means to an end.(However, you are not using a grocery bagger as such because he gets paid).When you put the Universal Law Formula and Formula of Humanity together, you get another way of formulating the Categorical Imperative.

The 3rd Formula is "The Kingdom of Ends Formula."We ought to be thinking of ourselves as legislators for a kingdom of people who are ends to themselves and for Kant that is what we are doing when we are acting morally.We should only act on maxims that can be laws for a community (Kingdom) of rational beings.Thus, we are both subjects and sovereigns in this community, because we make our own laws and then we must obey them.This is the reason Kant thinks that the categorical imperative is binding on all of us because we impose it on ourselves and make the laws, not binding just because somebody might punish us if we disobey.We already accept the categorical imperative according to Kant without thinking about it.We end up with the ideas of autonomy and motivation.We end up with the idea that reason alone must be capable of motivating us to act a certain way which for Kant means we have autonomy (self rule), (motivated by reason as opposed to desires), which gives us free will.We can only be bound by moral laws if we have this kind of autonomy, if we are motivated by reason, if we have in a sense a free will.Kant thinks it goes in the other direction as well, if we have a free will then we are bound by the categorical imperative.

Thus, philosophers ask do we truly have free will?Also, to what extent are we moved by causation?Kant says laws govern causation.One type of law is Newton's laws of motion, scientific laws.Philosophers debate the question is human actions like these laws?Can we predict human actions?Do our desires cause us to act in certain ways; can our actions be predetermined?Some say yes.Aristotle calls this "efficient causation."Some call them "laws of natural necessity."Given the way the natural world works, things have to happen in a certain way and the world is governed by certain laws.

Kant says if we have a free will, then the laws that govern our choices are not going to be laws of natural necessity.If we have a free will, then our will or our practical reason will choose its own principles, its own laws to act on, and those will be the laws that will cause us to do certain things.If we have a free will, then our will chooses certain principles these must have form of a law for everyone; a universal law, this is the categorical imperative.Thus, for Kant, if we have free will then the categorical imperative is binding on us.

I recommend you read this work slowly and repeat key passages for better comprehension.Kant's work is a must for anyone interested in philosophy, and ethics.

Understanding Kant
Understanding Kant's "On the Metaphysics of Morals and Ethics is a little intimidating (OK more than a little) but the secret is breaking down his thought processes into digestible bites (or bytes). So, to appreciate where Kant's coming from with this book you must not be afraid of its title and press on as if the book was titled "Ethics". Morals come from Ethics - an understanding of what should be regardless of circumstances and regardless or political or personal pressure. So, go for it and take it slowly - this is definitely not a book to speed read (not that you should speed-read any "worthwhile" book. Happy reading, RBE ... Read more

Product Description
This edition of Prolegomena includes Kant's letter of February, 1772 to Marcus Herz, a momentous document in which Kant relates the progress of his thinking and announces that he is now ready to present a critique of pure reason. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Difficult but worth the effort
Kant wrote the Prolegomena to assist readers who were having trouble understanding his Critique of Pure Reason.Nevertheless, the Prolegomena itself is difficult reading.In contrast to much of contemporary philosophy, however, it is worth the effort.One comes away from the Prolegomena with a different world view.This alternative perspective is not something that one need accept or reject, but a point of view that one may consider, part of our conceptual wherewithal for trying to make some sense of life.

Though commonly cast in the role of a philosophical idealist, Kant emphatically agrees that all knowledge is experientially determined.He parts company with philosophical materialists such as Marx, however, when he posits the existence of mind as organized a priori in a specific though unknowable way.Mind, thus, is not a tabula rasa on which our first experiences are inscribed and then used in making sense of what follows.Mind, instead, shapes all our experiences in terms of its inherent organization.

This leads Kant to the distinction between noumena, things as they actually are, and phenomena, things as we apprehend them upon their encounter with the organization of mind.This means that we can never know the world as it actually is.

Since there is no way to test this claim, we are left in the realm of speculative philosophical thought as an end in itself.Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that modern linguistics, especially as practiced by Chomsky, makes a comparable assumption.Chomsky observes that the remarkable thing about the world's many languages in not that they are so different, but that in crucial ways they have a great deal in common. This suggests that the functioning central nervous system -- mind -- has a specific and universal structure, that it is organized in much the same way from time to time and place to place.

In addition, though Garfinkel might reject this assessment, his ethnomethodological notion of interpretive procedures which enable us to make the social world intelligible for ourselves and each other seems to presuppose a pre-existing cognitive structure.In the words of one critic, they are "psychologisms," mental artifacts that are used by all of us and not socially learned.Again, they seem to be inherent a priori in the structure of the mind.

There is, no doubt, a good deal in the Prolegomena that I've missed or forgotten or misunderstood.If, however, I've gained nothing but insight into the possibility of mind as something other than a primordial blank slate, something that has a structure of its own I've gained a great deal.

Incredibly Helpful in Understanding Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
Simply put, modern philosophy begins with Kant.If anyone wishes to understand the development of philosophy after the 18th century, you must have some grounding in Kant.That said, his works are not easy to read, nor are they well-suited to leisurely reading.While most individuals try a stab at the Critique of Pure Reason, many seem to get lost in his argument.

For all you such individuals, the Prolegomena offers a handy guide to Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.This work is relatively short and far more accessible compared to the Critique.However, for a serious understanding of Kant, you must read this alongside the Critique of Pure Reason.Whereas the Prolegomena gives us a taste of the whole picture, the Critique provides us with all the details and nuances of his argument.

Lastly, the Hackett edition of this is quite nice in that it provides, at the end, a list of major words/phrases and the corresponding German.

Analytic of the Critique
This text is essentially a concise summary of the work accomplished by Kant in his Critique of Pure Reason, in which the great thinker answers the following: 1)How is pure mathematics possible? 2) How is pure natural science possible? 3)How is metaphysics in general possible? 4) How is metaphysics as a science possible? These are of course the most crucial topics in all transcendental thought, and this volume is possibly the most successful microcosm of Kant's thought. However, for all real students of Kant, the Critique must be read in its entirety.

Overview
This book is a very good overview of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and a very good introduction to Kant's thought.

best insomnia cure ever
People always think I'm making some sort of joke or being funny when I tell 'em they should read this here book if they're having trouble sleeping. I'm not. I tell them that the key to conking out while reading this book is to not merely skim along, reading it at a surface level, but to try to understand it. Put as much energy and effort into understanding it that you can. That will knock you out for a full night's sleep. Yup. If it doesn't put you to sleep, then you will have gained a critical understanding of one of the most influential works of modern philosophy...a field so dead that something written in 1772 is considered modern. ... Read more

Product Description
The Critique of Practical Reason is the second of Immanuel Kant's three critiques, first published in 1788. It follows on from his Critique of Pure Reason and deals with his moral philosophy.
The second Critique exercised a decisive influence over the subsequent development of the field of ethics and moral philosophy, beginning with Fichte's Doctrine of Science and becoming, during the 20th century, the principal reference point for every moral philosophy of a deontological stamp. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Continuing exploration
As long as you are searching for this book, you are interested in western moral philosophy. I still have to find someone who would take one of Kant's volumes out of his own accord and gaze at that person with wonder and amazement.

But, if you are starting with Kant you are making the mistake. For understanding of Kantinan revolution you have to know at least fundaments of other moral philosophies, especially those of Plato and Aristotle. Again, I cannot offer any kind of rating about this particular translation, if you can read German I sincerely recommend reading this work on it.

Kantian question of method, which he discusses in the third and closing part of this book is maybe one of the most challenging adventures in moral philosophy. Philosophers before Kant stated what is good and than proposed how to achieve that state, whatever it was. Kantian method is quite contrary and Kant himself pinpoints on this. First, there is a method, and by following that method we will be/act good.

There is much too little space here to elaborate all of Kantian concepts and there are much to discuss. Including existence of free will in world of causalities, hypothetical and categoricalimperatives and such. Don't be driven back by sometimes harsh language that Kant uses. Under there lies one of the greatest thoughts of western civilisation.

Making the ideas stick...
The 'Critique of Practical Reason' is the second volume in Immanuel Kant's major Critique project. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is considered one of the giants of philosophy, of his age or any other. It is largely this book that provides the foundation of this assessment. Whether one loves Kant or hates him (philosophically, that is), one cannot really ignore him; even when one isn't directly dealing with Kantian ideas, chances are great that Kant is made an impact.

Kant was a professor of philosophy in the German city of Konigsberg, where he spent his entire life and career. Kant had a very organised and clockwork life - his habits were so regular that it was considered that the people of Konigsberg could set their clocks by his walks. The same regularity was part of his publication history, until 1770, when Kant had a ten-year hiatus in publishing. This was largely because he was working on this book, the 'Critique of Pure Reason'. He then published this second installment, 'Critique of Practical Reason', seven years later.

Kant as a professor of philosophy was familiar with the Rationalists, such as Descartes, who founded the Enlightenment and in many ways started the phenomenon of modern philosophy. He was also familiar with the Empiricist school (John Locke and David Hume are perhaps the best known names in this), which challenged the rationalist framework. Between Leibniz' monads and Hume's development of Empiricism to its logical (and self-destructive) conclusion, coupled with the Romantic ideals typified by Rousseau, the philosophical edifice of the Enlightenment seemed about to topple.

The foundations of this text (a much briefer one than the first Critique) can be found in the short volume 'Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals'. Whereas 'Groundwork' sets out some short, basic principles, the Critique is a more synthetic text - it takes these principles and combines them with experiences, then presenting them 'as the structure of a peculiar cognitive faculty, in their natural combination.'

According to translator and scholar Lewis White Beck, this second Critique has two functions - it affirms concepts 'without which moral experience would be unintelligible or impossible' while it negates dogmatism and fanaticism that claims unique ultimate insight into metaphysical realities. Kant does make his argument for the existence of the immortal soul and for God in this volume, but these are considered lesser areas of Kant's competence. His discussion of freedom and autonomy, carried forward from his discussion in 'Groundwork', is much more studied and used in today's philosophical circles.

Making the ideas stick
The 'Critique of Practical Reason' is the second volume in Immanuel Kant's major Critique project.Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is considered one of the giants of philosophy, of his age or any other. It is largely this book that provides the foundation of this assessment. Whether one loves Kant or hates him (philosophically, that is), one cannot really ignore him; even when one isn't directly dealing with Kantian ideas, chances are great that Kant is made an impact.

Kant was a professor of philosophy in the German city of Konigsberg, where he spent his entire life and career. Kant had a very organised and clockwork life - his habits were so regular that it was considered that the people of Konigsberg could set their clocks by his walks. The same regularity was part of his publication history, until 1770, when Kant had a ten-year hiatus in publishing. This was largely because he was working on this book, the 'Critique of Pure Reason'. He then published this second installment, 'Critique of Practical Reason', seven years later.

Kant as a professor of philosophy was familiar with the Rationalists, such as Descartes, who founded the Enlightenment and in many ways started the phenomenon of modern philosophy. He was also familiar with the Empiricist school (John Locke and David Hume are perhaps the best known names in this), which challenged the rationalist framework. Between Leibniz' monads and Hume's development of Empiricism to its logical (and self-destructive) conclusion, coupled with the Romantic ideals typified by Rousseau, the philosophical edifice of the Enlightenment seemed about to topple.

The foundations of this text (a much briefer one than the first Critique) can be found in the short volume 'Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals'.Whereas 'Groundwork' sets out some short, basic principles, the Critique is a more synthetic text - it takes these principles and combines them with experiences, then presenting them 'as the structure of a peculiar cognitive faculty, in their natural combination.'

According to translator and scholar Lewis White Beck, this second Critique has two functions - it affirms concepts 'without which moral experience would be unintelligible or impossible' while it negates dogmatism and fanaticism that claims unique ultimate insight into metaphysical realities.Kant does make his argument for the existence of the immortal soul and for God in this volume, but these are considered lesser areas of Kant's competence.His discussion of freedom and autonomy, carried forward from his discussion in 'Groundwork', is much more studied and used in today's philosophical circles.

prussian genius creates wonderful but confusing book
althought i have not read this translation of the work i do have a translation of critique of practical reason translated by lewis white beck and i love the book.It is like kant brilliant and a work of great genius.I have found it best to read kant methodically because of his extremely confusing word choices and meanings; with a dictionary, and a glossary (or kant dictionary whichever suits u)in hand to fully understand his rich meanings.This book is illuminating and insightfull but it may be hard to understand for u with the philosophical jargon and complex concepts.I would definitely recommend not start with kant.U may want to read his first critique the critique of pure reason first btw

christian apologetics?did you actually read the book?
It's a classic of western philosophy as was just about everything Kant wrote, but that's not my purpose in writing this.I want to refute the silly notion that this is "nothing but Christian apologetics."Merely believing in a higher being does not make one a Christian.Aristotle, Plato, Spinoza, Hegel, and yes Kant all believed in a higher power of some sort (as do Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and many sects of Buddhists) but none of them were Christians.To be a Christian, if the word is to have any meaning at all, requires some beliefs about Jesus, in particular that he was the son of God.Kant discounts every miracle associated with Jesus, and not only that but anyone who knows the first thing about his system as a whole realizes that he would hold that the very idea of God having a human son to be utterly absurd (though Kant left us to draw this conclusion as stating these sorts of things too explicitly in 18th century Prussia was a good way to end up in jail or at least out of work).Given all that, in what sense could Kant possibly be a Christian?Now Kant does believe that Christianity expresses some ethical truths and that Jesus as portrayed in the bible was a good human being, but then again Bertrand Russell says the same things in "Why I'm Not a Christian," which in case anyone was wondering is not usually considered to be a work of Christian apologetics.Kant does claim that morality impels us to have faith that there is a God, but he steadfastly holds that we cannot anthropomorphize this being in any way (i.e. there can be no angry God nor happy God because these are the emotions of beings like us and make no sense when applied to God).This is almost impossible to reconcile with any view that could meaningfully be called Christian.Anyone interested in Kant's views on religion should check out Wood's essay on this topic in "The Cambridge Companion to Kant" and Susan Neiman also has some interesting things to say about the role of religion in Kant's philosophy in her "Evil in Modern Thought." ... Read more

Product Description
With an Introduction by renowned Kant scholar Allen W. Wood, this is the only available one-volume edition of the essential works of the Enlightenment's greatest philosopher and one of the most influential thinkers of modern times. Containing carefully selected excerpts from his most frequently taught essays and book-length publications, including Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Judgment, and Eternal Peace, the Basic Writings of Kant is an indispensable collection. This revised edition was edited by Carl J. Friedrich.

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Customer Reviews (4)

Kant the philosophical revolutionary
This is an excellent survey of Kant's groundbreaking constributions to epistemology and moral philosophy. I would, however, support Karl Popper's observation that the best way to understand the transcendental idealism of Kant is to first study Schopenhauer. An ideal introduction to Schopenhauer (and Kant) is Bryan Magee's 'The Philosophy of Schopenhauer'. Then read Schopenhauer's 'On the Fourfold Root of Principle of Sufficient Reason', and then his 'The World as Will and Representation'. Schopenhauer is a peerless prose stylist and conceptual architect and he explains the philosophy of Kant (and it's limitations) better than Kant does himself. Once you have familiarised yourself with Schopenhauer, Kant's comparatively opaque and desultory prose (with occasional flashes of brilliance) is readily accessible. Kant's staggering intellectual achievement in moving beyond the apparent epistemological dead end of Hume is sufficient motivation for making the effort to read the Critique of Pure Reason. In the other works in this volume Kant developed his (in my view)flawed moral philosophy, based as it is on the supposed sovereignty of reason over the will - with its famous 'catagorical imperative'. While this is less impressive than his epistemology, it is still interesting and well worth reading. The translations offered here are clear and the selections from Kant's works are judicious. Altogether a great book at a great price, which will richly reward the serious reader.

An effective compilation, with all of the essays necessary for a basic understanding of Kant.
With a thourough reading of this text, it is entirely possible to extract, not just the jist, but a fundamental understanding of the philosophy of Kant.Although it is true that no compilation of writings, which is forced to express the ideas of a philosopher such as Kant in a manageable way, can provide an understanding required for a masters or doctoral thesis, the Basic Writings of Kant is translated in such a way and contains the necessary essays for higher-level undergraduate understanding.

By examining the development of Kant's ideas throughout each essay, it is possible to understand the unity of metaphysical, empirical, and moral concepts in a digestable and useful way.Although one may see fault in Kant's philosophy regarding any of these facets, this text provides the means for an understanding of Kant's philosopy and solid ground by which to dispute his ideas.

One distinction, which might be useful in reading this text, is to note that the essay "Critique of Practical Reason" is better understood as the "Critique of (Pure) Practical Reason". It should be understood that Kant felt that the boundaries in whichboth practical and theoretical reason, lie is within the limits of the mind itself.

Also, regarding Kant's chauvinism, a close reading of "What Is Englightenment?", might shed some light on those who seem to have heard what they wanted to hear in his referrence to the "fairer sex".Aside from that passage, I can not actually think of another example of his even mentioning gender differences.Feel free to correct me, if you can provide me with some new information, or something that I've forgotten.

An Easy to Read Selection of Kant Writings
My review is more by accident then intentional logging on to write a review.While surfing around, I stumbled here to check out a couple of reviews and noticed some with astonishing errors; either due to a lack of writing a detailed review or just not understanding Kant's ideas.The problem may also lie in that anthologies don't carry the full selection of a person's arguments (although with one reviewer it is just an obvious case of silly ignorant ramblings)

Wood's book is readable and it is true that Kant is never an easy read, but neither are most Prussian Philosophers of the same era.

Whatever Kant's metaphysical faults are, he is not a relativist, but tried, although many have asserted unsuccessfully, to construct an objective moral framework on reason alone (although Kant did believe in God and asserted that the Christian religion was the closet to a true objective construct; however, that is precisely the problem of anthologies, because all they do is give one a snap shot of someone's work.Further, Kant asserted God as a practical necessity if humans were going to reach the highest good (summum bonum).

Lastly, is trying to limit the role of reason to make room for faith.He limits knowledge by demonstrating that reason belongs in the empirical realm (phenomenal) and the things-in-itself are actually in the noumenal world beyond the reach of the senses.For someone as lengthy as Kant, short reviews cannot do justice.If one gets this book, then they should also get "The Cambridge Companion to Kant" also sold on Amazon and edited by Kant scholar Guyer.

Good anthology.
This section of Immanuel Kant met my needs. It had the selections ofKant's writings that I needed, and all under one volume.I congratulate the editors for including references to the original works in the margins. This makes their edition useful as a stepping stone for studying the larger books.

As to the translation, it was readable, which is the best that can be expected from Kant.The Prussian philosopher is notorious fro his run on sentence, subordinate and sub-subordinate clauses, and abstruseness.He would give Strunk and White a heart-attack.With this caveat, I found the translation a readable as humanly possible.

*

Since this review is about the book, rather than the content of Kant's philosophy, I will not extensively comment on it.With his "Critique of Pure Reason," Kant asserts that our mind affects our perceptions.In other words, reason is in doubt. This statement is self-contradictory, and therefore invalid. If we doubt our minds, then we must doubt the conclusion that we doubt our minds, since our mind reached this conclusion.

Kant is the father of modern skepticism, and the godfather of relativism.As demonstrated, relativism is an incoherent, and therefore unlivable philosophy.Thank you, Immanuel!

Secondly, his "categorical imperative" is ineffective.He appeals to duty, but duty is not an irreducible primary.The duty is always in relation to either self, to others, or to God.Secondly, duty is merely a means, but it is not an end in itself.What is the "telos" of duty?No explanation. ... Read more

Product Description
In the Critique of Judgement, Kant offers a penetrating analysis of our experience of the beautiful and the sublime. He discusses the objectivity of taste, aesthetic disinterestedness, the relation of art and nature, the role of imagination, genius and originality, the limits of representation, and the connection between morality and the aesthetic. He also investigates the validity of our judgements concerning the degree in which nature has a purpose, with respect to the highest interests of reason and enlightenment.
The work profoundly influenced the artists, writers, and philosophers of the classical and romantic period, including Hegel, Schelling, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. In addition, it has remained a landmark work in fields such as phenomenology, hermeneutics, the Frankfurt School, analytical aesthetics, and contemporary critical theory. Today it remains an essential work of philosophy, and required reading for all with an interest in aesthetics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Kant's argument for finding the universal concept of beauty
I read this book for a graduate seminar on the philosophy of art.Kant is one of the major figures in expression theory.What we understand as aesthetics changed only recently.Kant lays this out well in his "Critique of Judgment," which is one of his easier books to comprehend!Science and math development was momentous in re-interpreting how nature is understood, and all this starts in his time.The modern science narrative that says ancient thought erred; caused a split between science and philosophy.Scientific method and math causes nature to be seen in a "mechanistic" way, there are no "value" judgments anymore so this valueless nature by science caused the split because nature can't explain values anymore.Thus, philosophy finds that "values" are in humans, not in nature, we are the "location" of values now.Beauty, which is a value, is an idea in our minds.This expression theory says something about us it is in our minds.Kant agrees with this notion of how modern science operates especially in "Critique of Pure Reason." However, with questions of art he doesn't rely on science.

Kant begins that there is such a thing as an experience of beauty, and that we normally presuppose that it must be compelling rather than just mere opinion unlike taste in food.Then he asks why would there be such a thing?He is now trying to lay out possible answers to that question.In the experience of beauty, the mind gets a special perspective on its own powers.Thus, this special perspective is free of the normal constraints of the things we do in our lives like knowing and worrying.Kant realizes that the aesthetic experience is subjective; it is in the human mind not in reality.He wants to make artistic judgments.Not just interested in individual subjectivity, he looks for a "universal" character of experience of judgment.It is not real useful to just catalogue people's subjective opinions.Kant says inter-subjective principle is part of the human mind as more of a collective.Thus, humans can make judgment.Kant's idea of taste is not to merely have a subjective opinion; people have a kind of competency they have discernment.The difficulty in this notion is, how does one know when they find a universal.

Kant astutely argues that one can't argue towards an aesthetic judgment like in logic, aesthetics is subjective but he wants humans to be able to say; "this painting is beautiful, and not just to me."Important point: is there such a thing as subjective universality?This is his dilemma, although he thinks there is if you can use the principle of "disinterest."The realm of subjectivity is realm of interests.Once one is divorced of all normal interest, one can view art with a "disinterested" view.This notion of disinterest screens out allot but has to be connected to pleasure but not mere opinion universally.The other important element of disinterest has been the continuing idea and even could be something that could be applicable to any area of art.There is something about art that has some relationship to a "pause" from normal relationships.There is something special about artworks that even though there was no such thing as a museum in Greece, Greek statuary and architecture was all part of the cityscape, part of the actual landscape and livingscape of Greece, and therefore part of the city so no such thing as a museum.However, whenever a statue was put up or a temple, or a play was put on, that would seem to be something different from the normal relationships with objects either in terms of using them for some practical purpose and therefore using them up giving the works some special reserve, special status.Disinterest wouldn't require that it have the subjectivism term because you would simply say that the whole point of art could be disengaged normal ways of engaging things, even if it didn't have a subjective theory of expression.According to this notion of "disinterest," the idea of political art would be a contradiction in terms.Art as applied as nothing more than serving political needs.Like how the Soviet Union used art for nothing else but to serve the workers revolution.Kant is saying, the whole idea of engaging beauty is to be divorced from the normal ways of things, and that would include end purposes, goals, and outcomes.

Distinction between subjective universal validity and objective universal validity.
An important argument Kant makes is that all judgments of "taste" and "beauty" are of a singular judgment.If it is unique, it cannot fit in the universal concept of beauty.There are no formulas, principles, or rules for identifying beauty.There is only the "possibility" of aesthetic judgments, so he can't list items of art that conform to his aesthetic judgment.Kant says something about art is different than everything else it doesn't have interest, axioms, rules, can't list things, but it has some positives, it is pleasurable, it draws us, it satisfies us, it isn't pleasure of practical needs or pleasure of knowledge or any interests.It doesn't excite our personal desires, it just gives us a direct experience of pleasure.Thus, Kant gives an intellectual picture of aesthetic taste and he says it is always a species of pleasure.The category of disinterest provides two notions for Kant, one is freedom, and the other is universality.By freedom, he means, freedom from both desire and knowledge, and that is the interesting part.

Another important concept for Kant is that the free play of imagination is one of the features that make up beauty.Free play of imagination of art gives pleasure because the mind is free from normal cognitive needs, logical rules, or empirical findings, practical needs, and therefore it has an element of openness.Thus, imagination is very important here, imagination is the ability to conjure up something that is not a fact in the real world.The free play in the imagination in art gives pleasure, because here the mind can simply enjoy its own cognitive powers independent of the constraints of the other realms, like science, math, logic, and other practical needs.Free play opens the idea that the artist has allot of leeway.The artist is not bound by facts and realities, nor is the audience someone who has to have that attitude either.Therefore, when you are looking at a painting or you are reading a poem or listening to music in this mode you are not bound by other ways of knowing.You are going to be free of that.What does that mean?First of all, all art is going to have a tangible means of presentation through sound or sight or color, texture, structure, so forth.This excites pleasure because art is a less ordered realm than other areas.Kant wouldn't say you could take pleasure in something that was chaotic.Kant says you can't force aesthetic judgment on others, but beauty has a universal claim, that is the tightrope he is walking.It is complicated, beauty is not chaotic, but not private opinion.

Disinterest and free play of mind is two sides of same coin.Imagination is not bound by normal modes of knowing, or normal needs or desires so it is associated with free play.Normally our desires are compelling to us.Imagination is the faculty, which is not bound to any particular object in the world that has to govern what we say.Then he goes to say that pleasure is the other element that has to be; that beauty has to be experienced as pleasure, and the theory does say something that is culturally specific, that pleasure comes from the experience of the harmony of the faculties.The free play of imagination is pleasurable, when within certain principles of harmony and order.This really is a kind of formalism, because it is not bound by the particular aesthetic object.This is one of the fullest senses of expression theory means, the expression of the mind's capacity rather then the direct reading out of the object itself.

So, what is aesthetic beauty, what is aesthetic judgment?Aesthetic judgment has to do with the sensuous form.So it obviously has to do with some kind of sensuous medium, some kind of visual or auditory stuff, which is probably what art is about, a sensuous form producing a harmony of the faculties that are released from normal judgments like science, and hence free to notice and explore structural relations and patterns as such.Not tied to condition or use or even the abstract universality of mere concepts (that is where singularity comes in).The abstract universality of mere concepts is there is a dog; the abstract concept of "dog" is the universal organization of all particular dogs.Here pleasure is excited which would not occur in logical form.So remember there are sensuous pleasures that are different from cognition; thus, scientific cognition has nothing to do with pleasure, it solely has to do with truth.So art is something that is disinterested, so therefore, it is relieved from the normal kinds of pleasures or normal kinds of things, but it is pleasure and in that respect, it is different from logic or reason.

Art is not something useful and you have to pick out what it isn't and say that yes aesthetic judgments can be made and there is such a thing as beauty.However, it doesn't operate the same way as normal reason does, it doesn't operate the way practical reason does, and it is not mere cognition because it has elements of sensuality and pleasure.The universality part of art has to do with disinterest and Kant is filling out the concept a little bit more.Kant argues that disinterest opens the door for the mind to enjoy its faculties independent of the usual ways in which the faculties are applied.The usual ways the faculties are applied are in science, the scientific accounts of nature, practical reasons like, "how do I get this thing done," these are the faculties that reach out towards something to understand.The artwork is obviously something that is out there, but with the power of aesthetic appreciation with artwork is not simply in the artwork but in the mind, the appreciation of the work by way of the mind's faculties and experience of pleasure.

Thus, Kant argues that everyone has there own taste, but the concept of the beautiful is universal.For Kant, the beautiful is a special characteristic.Thus, people can't deny an aesthetic judgment of taste.This sounds like Kant believes in cultural and foundational forms of beauty, which he observed in his Prussian society.

I recommend this work for anyone interested in philosophy and philosophy of art.
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Product Description
This comprehensive, lucid, and systematic commentary on Kant's practical (or moral) philosophy is sure to become a standard reference work.Kant is arguably the most important moral philosopher of the modern period, yet, prior to this detailed study, there have been no attempts to treat all of his work in this area in a single volume.Using as nontechnical a language as possible, the author offers a detailed, authoritative account of Kant's moral philosophy, including his ethical theory, his philosophy of history, his political philosophy, his philosophy of religion, and his philosophy of education.He also demonstrates the historical, Kantian origins of such important notions as "autonomy," "respect for others," "rights," and "duties." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

My favorite intro to Kant's ethical theory
There are so many books written about Kant that one could almost emend the statement, "Of the making of books, there is no end" to "Of the making of books on Kant, there is no end."Kant is not merely studied, he is studied in enormous depth and with a passion and meticulousness reserved for few philosophers in history.When I was working on my Ph.D. in philosophy, even though I had read dozens of books on Kant, and was planning on spending half of my doctoral thesis on aspects of his moral thought, I would never have dreamed, in academic parlance, of describing myself as a Kant "specialist."I remained hesitant to even acknowledge myself as "competent" in Kant's ethics.

Of all the books I read on Kant's ethics, I found this one to be the best at providing an overview of Kant's moral thought and how it related to his work as a whole.Sullivan resists the widespread tendency to subdivide Kant.There are Kant scholars who expend all their efforts on one aspect of Kant's philosophy, with little effort to explain the connections with the rest of his work or to show how the two interrelate and, in fact, require one another.Moreover, even scholars working with Kant's moral theory oftentimes focus on one or two or perhaps three texts to the exclusion of the rest of his work, to the point of ignoring completely what Kant has to say about ethics in some of his works less directly concerned with moral philosophy.For instance, it is impossible to understand Kant's views about the demands of the moral law if one does not also understand his thinking about immortality.A larger number of Kant scholars have attempted to understand his ethical thought with no reference to his religious philosophy, but this isn't understanding Kant so much as preparing a fully secularized version of Kant (in fact, Kant is pretty secular even after brining all his religious beliefs to bear, but that is a separate issue).

Sullivan is marvelous at taking a particular issue in Kant, and then discussing it across a variety of texts, sometimes texts that even specialists ignore.His work is primarily integrative and synthetic, although there is also a strong analytical strain.If I were to teach a course on Kant's ethics, this is the book I would use as a secondary source.If I were taking a course on Kant's ethics, this is the book I would rely on most, apart from Kant's own writings.Advanced students and scholars will argue with many aspects of Sullivan's exposition, but no book on Kant enjoys universal approbation.But I question whether anyone studying Kant's work for the first time or trying to study his moral thought as a whole will find a more helpful book than this.It is to be recommended for its breadth, its comprehensiveness, and its clarity. ... Read more

Product Description
Many contemporaries criticized him for smashing the Age of Reason.Goethe, however, remarked that reading a page of Immanuel Kant was like entering a bright and well-lighted room:The great eighteenth-century philosopher illuminated everything he ever pondered.The twelve essays in this volume reveal Kant's towering importance as an ethical and social thinker as well as his enduring influence on the shape of philosophy.Included are excerpts from Dreams of a Visionary, Prolegomena to Every Future Metaphysics, Metaphysical Foundations of Morals, Critique of Judgement, and Eternal Peace.

As Professor Friedrich writes in his introduction to this volume:"The problem of freedom, the freedom of the human personality to unfold and fulfill its higher destiny, is the central issue of all of Kant's philosophizing."
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Customer Reviews (2)

Something to think about...
This is a fairly extensive set of excerpts from Kant's "moral and political writings" including his views on war (possibly Providence's way to improve humanity as a whole, despite Kant's antipathy to it), freedom & its relationship to politics & business, relationships between pure reason & empiricism, the nature of causation vs. empiricism, the price of dignity, universal laws ~ Jung's archetypes, reciprocal causation ~ Jung's synchronicity, etc. There are many quotable phrases such as:
pp. 11-12: Men whose heads touch the heavens while their feet rest upon the lowly earth.
pp. 21-2: True wisdom is the companion of simplicity. [Occam's Razor]
p. 132: Enlightenment is man's leaving his self-caused immaturity.

He also addresses knowledge & ideas: p. 40: In fact, this may pass as an infallible prophecy for all future time. Since, the human mind has speculated for so many centuries on countless subjects in so many ways, it is likely that for every new idea an old one can be found having some affinity with it.

science: p. 263: Scientific knowledge, critically explored & systematically introduces is the narrow gateway which leads to wisdom.

and morality: p. 465: Act in such a way that you could want your maxim to become a general law.

Friedrich describes his treatment of the original texts in footnotes. However, the text includes numerous Latin phrases (mostly not included in my phrasebooks) which are not translated herein. Further, writing in the 2nd half of the 18th century, some of Kant's examples, assumptions, & value judgments are dated. His style is somewhat convoluted & difficult (possibly due to German translated into English); one of the excerpts is something of a Christian apologetic; others are utopian & IMHO naïve. Overall, it demonstrates the brilliance of Kant as an original thinker--a man ahead of his time, & possibly of ours too.

The emphasis is on the problem of peace
The Preface by Carl J. Friedrich is dated October, 1949, prime time for those who expected Kant to appear as a mighty mind proclaiming the need for world government by delivering mighty propositions.Kant's IDEA FOR A UNIVERSAL HISTORY (1784) is concerned primarily with its Seventh Principle, "The problem of the establishment of a perfect civic constitution depends upon the problem of a lawful external relationship of the states and cannot be solved without the latter."(p. 123).To put it mildly:

That is to say, wars, the excessive and never-ending preparation for wars, and the want which every state even in the midst of peace must feel--all these are means by which nature instigates attempts, which at first are inadequate, but which, after many devastations, reversals and a very general exhaustion of the states' resources, may accomplish what reason could have suggested to them without so much sad experience, namely; to leave the lawless state of savages and to enter into a union of nations wherein each, even the smallest state, could expect to derive its security and rights--not from its own power or its own legal judgment--but only from this great union of nations (Foedus Amphictyonum) and from united power and decisions according to the united will of them all.(p. 124).

The attempts which have been made to date are hardly encouraging, and when a global superpower sees the need for a revolution somewhere, it is hardly surprising that the world is approaching a situation in which *I*was*of*three*minds*like a tree*in*which*there*were*three*Iraqis.Among three alternatives considered by Kant, be mindful of his inability to ultimately predict:

. . . that all these effects and counter-effects will in the long run result in nothing, or at least nothing sensible, and that things will remain as they always have been and therefore one cannot predict that the discord which is natural to the species is in the end preparing us for a hell of evils, evil in an ever so civilized state because perhaps nature will destroy, by barbaric devastation, this entire state and all advances of culture (a fate which one may well suffer with the government of blind accident which is indeed identical with lawless freedom if no wisely conceived direction of nature is imputed thereto)--these three alternatives . . .(p. 125).

Among the reasons advanced by Kant for his Eighth Principle favoring an enlightened constitution, is, "Eventually, even war will become a very dubious enterprise, not only because its result on both sides is so uncertain and artificial, but because in its aftermath the state consequently finds itself saddled with a growing debt the repayment of which becomes undeterminable."(pp. 128-129).Kant's suggests lamely that other states might "offer themselves as arbiters and thus start a future great government of which there is no previous example in history."(p. 129)His Ninth Principle favors a philosophical history of the world which is primarily concerned with "what nations and governments have contributed toward world government or how they have damaged it.We may be concerned with this and may also consider (that) the ambition of rulers and their servants (should) be directed toward the only means which could secure a glorious reputation for them in later ages."(p. 131).

This volume ends with Kant's "Eternal Peace" from 1795.Almost everything in this volume, The Modern Library 1949 edition of THE PHILOSOPHY OF KANT, was translated into English by Carl J. Friedrich, who manages to smooth Kant's sentences to produce the minimum amount of verbal whiplash.The CRITIQUE OF JUDGMENT is based on the translation of James C. Meredith, but is somewhat simplified from what I have in the James Creed Meredith translation in GREAT BOOKS volume 39, KANT, which starts:

Philosophy may be said to contain the principles of the rational cognition that concepts afford us of things (not merely, as with logic, the principles of the form of thought in general irrespective of the objects), and, thus interpreted, the course, usually adopted, of dividing it into theoretical and practical is perfectly sound.(GREAT BOOKS, 39, KANT, p. 463).

As edited by Carl J. Friedrich, this becomes:

Philosophy contains the principles for rational knowledge that concepts afford us of things but not as Logic does, which contains merely the principles of the form of thought in general, irrespective of objects.Hence the usual course of dividing philosophy into the theoretical and the practical is perfectly sound.(THE PHILOSOPHY OF KANT, p. 265).

The GREAT BOOKS edition also includes the Preface to the First Edition 1790 and Contents with Roman Numerals in the Introduction for I through IX; First Part, Critique of Aesthetic Judgement, consisting of Book I and Book II within Section I; and a Section II.The Second Part has First Division (Analytic of Teleological Judgement) and Second Division:Dialectic of Teleological Judgement.This book contains most of the Introduction:I, III, IV, V, VI, and IX.Following the Introduction, items are numbered 1 through 91, and these numbers appear in THE PHILOSOPHY OF KANT for items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 23, 55, 56, 57, 61, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 74, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, and 91.

RELIGION WITHIN THE LIMITS OF REASON ALONE is also available in a translation into English by Theodore M. Greene and Hoyt H. Hudson with Prefaces that are not included in this book.The final topic as edited by Carl J. Friedrich in THE PHILOSOPHY OF KANT is in Division One of Book Three, called, "IV.The Idea of a People of God can be Realized through Human Organization only in the Form of a Church"(pp. 409-411).This topic appears in the center of the 1934, 1960 Harper Torchbook edition which includes two substantial Introductions, an Index, and a Biblical Index.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF KANT does not have an index.The excerpt from "Dreams of a Visionary Explained by Dreams of Metaphysics" (1766) does not mention Swedenborg. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the most up-to-date, brief and accessible introduction to Kant's ethics available.It approaches the moral theory via the political philosophy, thus allowing the reader to appreciate why Kant argued that the legal structure for any civil society must have a moral basis. This approach also explains why Kant thought that our basic moral norms should serve as laws of conduct for everyone. The volume also includes a detailed commentary on Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant's most widely studied work of moral philosophy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

High-Level Cliff Notes (In a Good Sense)
This book is a short, tight, and clearly-written exposition of Kant's "Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals" (perhaps the most horribly-named book in the history of philosophy).Kant is difficult; Sullivan helps to make him clear. Readers should know, however, that Sullivan limits himself to unpacking and restating Kant's argument.He doesn't critique it or compare it to rival moral theories (such as Hume's).For that reason I knocked off one star.

Getting Kant right
Very informative in a straightforward and clear style. Kant is is often misunderstood and this books gets it right. A nice introduction to Kant's metaethicseven for beginners.

Great introduction to Kant's ethics
The problem with Kant's political theory is that it is not found in one work. His ethics is spread out in Critique of Pure Reason, Groundworks of the Metaphysics of Morals, Critique of Practical Reason and many more. Taken the fact that Kant's language (even in German) is anything but easy to understand and that most students never move beyond the "Groundworks of the Metaphysics of Morals" Sullivan's introduction is a gold mine! It's easy to read, explains the concepts and the development of Kant's thought and points you to the relevant further readings if needed. ... Read more

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This volume collects for the first time in a single volume all of Kant's writings on religion and rational theology. These works were written during a period of conflict between Kant and the Prussian authorities over his religious teachings. The historical context and progression of this conflict are charted in the general introduction to the volume and in the translators' introductions to particular texts. All the translations are new with the exception of The Conflict of the Faculties, where the translation has been revised and redited to conform to the guidelines of the Cambridge Edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Imprescindible
Every serious scholar in Kant or Theology must owe this superb volume. It contains many unknown and important works in order to achieve a complete and accurate vision of Kant's moral theory and his philosophy of religion, as well as his whole system of philosophy, developed throughout the three Critiques. Kant himself delimited his philosophical project in the formulations of these three questions: "What can I know" --What I ought to do? and -What am I to expect? (CPR A 804/ B 832). Kant told that the last question, the theological one, was to be answer in "The religion within the limits of mere reason" of 1793 (AK 11: 414), a monumental work that makes clear several issues being somehow murky for the readers of the Groundwork and the Critique of the Pure reason, such as the value of the faith, the intelligible grounds of free will and the relation between morals and traditional religion. ... Read more

Product Description
This file includes: The Critique of Pure Reason; The Critique of Practical Reason, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals; and The Metaphysical Elements of Ethics.According to Wikipedia: "Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was an 18th-century German philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia). He is regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of modern Europe and of the late Enlightenment. Kant created a new widespread perspective in philosophy which is influencing enlightened philosphy until the 21st Century. He published important works of epistemology as also scripts in coherence to religion, law and history. His most important work is the Critique of Pure Reason, an investigation into the limitations and structure of reason itself. It encompasses an attack on traditional metaphysics and epistemology, and highlights Kant's own contribution to these areas. The other main works of his maturity are the Critique of Practical Reason, which concentrates on ethics, and the Critique of Judgment, which investigates aesthetics and teleology." ... Read more

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Like Werner Pluhar's distinguished translation of "Critique of Judgment" (Hackett Publishing Co., 1987), this new rendering of "Critique of Pure Reason" reflects the elegant achievement of a master translator. This richly annotated volume offers translations of the complete texts of both the first and second editions, as well as Kant's own notes. Extensive editorial notes by Werner Pluhar and James Ellington supply explanatory and terminological comments, translations of Latin and other foreign expressions, variant readings, cross-references to other passages in the text and in other writings of Kant, and references to secondary works. An extensive bibliography, glossary, and detailed index are included. Patricia Kitcher's illuminating Introduction provides a roadmap to Kant's abstract and complex argumentation by firmly locating his view in the context of eighteenth-century - and current - attempts to understand the nature of the thinking mind and its ability to comprehend the physical universe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

A superb translation in modern English
Mr Werner S. Pluhar has done us all non-German readers a great favor:
A clear, complete (with a German-English Glossary followed by the English-German Index), fluent translation of Kant's major work.
It's the one I feel to be the most enjoyable and closer to the original.
Patricia Kitcher's Introduction is very helpful to any new Kant's reader.
The editing and format of this edition is well designed and inviting to
the eye.

Beautiful translation of a beautiful work
Pluhar's translation is wonderful. The extensive annotation makes the whole work perfectly clear, offering alternative translations and pointing out the technical German vocabulary (so essential to understanding Kant). The work flows beautifully, and though the material was dense, I could hardly put it down at times. If you're just starting Kant, do not start here. I'd suggest the excellent series by W.T. Jones called A History of Western Philosophy (specifically volume four). Read and reread it. Understand the basics about Kant, then, when you have the proper grounding, go on to the Critique. It will reward careful study.

A literary challenge
This Critique is long, difficult, and dry; however, at the same time it is brilliant.Many who rate this book below 4 stars just simply do not have the education or intellect to understand it.I recommend studying early modern philosophy from Descartes to Hume; then, you may be able to comprehend Kant's deep thinking.To this day, I display this book proudly as a trophy, and a thought bible.

Kant you write better
"Immanual Kant was a real pissant who was very rarely stable." In what?did he drink?

This book, the first critique, is genius; there's no disputing that.But how valuable is this particular edition or translation. This is perhaps the only case where, I think, Hackett didn't hack it.

There are an abundance of footnotes, there are references to Kemp Smith, there are references to the Meiklejohn, there are just damn too many references.

This edition may serve the Kant scholar well, but not the student.The words used to replace the "confusing ones" used by Kemp Smith are no less confusing.

But Kant is Kant, and he will remain stable even after a long night of translating alcohol.

What is real?
Standard book of german philosophy. It has a historic value and a contemporary relevance, because it enforces rigorous rethinking about the status of perceived objects. Time and space are, according to Kant, on theside of the perceiving subject, and not independently real. But whatremains, if we remove space/time from the objects? Such considerations maytwist the brain, but are quite amusing and may sharpen ones mentalfaculties. ... Read more

Product Description
This entirely new translation of Critique of Pure Reason is the most accurate and informative English translation ever produced of this epochal philosophical text. Though its simple, direct style will make it suitable for all new readers of Kant, the translation displays a philosophical and textual sophistication that will enlighten Kant scholars as well.This translation recreates as far as possible a text with the same interpretative nuances and richness as the original. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Very impressive.
The project at Cambridge is still excellent with this monumental effort by Guyer and Wood. A new classic translation.

EVERYONE, READ THIS BOOK!Kant is too important to be left to the philosophers.
Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason [CPR] suffers for an unjust reputation for being unreadable.When a figure as brilliant as Stephen Hawking comments on the work's difficulty, one can only imagine how intimidated an otherwise tolerably well-educated prospective reader might feel.We should recall however, that the genealogy of this criticism goes back to Kant himself, who wrote in the Introduction to his Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics that CPR is "dry, obscure, ... and long-winded."Surely Kant's self-deprecatory modesty cannot be taken at face value.And it definitely should not be used as an excuse for peremptorily throwing up one's hands in the face of a work of such monumental and revolutionary significance.Marx, Durkheim, and Weber are scarcely 'easier' than Kant, but they never seem to be the targets of such free criticism with regard to readability.Hegel, Heidegger, Derrida, and Deleuze and Guattari are far 'harder' than Kant, if, that is, they intend to be understood at all.A patient, liberally-educated reader, and even more importantly, an active reader, one that annotates, questions and re-rereads [no sic!], can understand Kant.

Ok. Fine.You can read Kant.But why should you?I will give answers directed toward two different audiences: on the one hand, scholars who are not philosophers; on the other, the general public.I cannot stress enough that it is the second answer that I consider by far the most important.Humanistic scholars already know they ought to read Kant, and they will dip their toes there occasionally.When they do, they will inevitably find answers to questions that they didn't know Kant even asked.But the general public NEEDS to read Kant, and CPR specifically, because in it he lays the groundwork for rational political debate and for discussions of moral behavior, encumbered by theological disputes that are millennia old, and as he proves, practically meaningless.You didn't think Kant cared about such things?You're wrong.It's the philosophers that have been misleading us, and it is time to take Kant back to the center of political discourse, exactly where he wanted to be.

The main reason why scholars who aren't philosophers should read Kant is that Kantian concepts float around unrecognized in many disciplines, and they have often been mistreated or overlooked. .A classic case is Kant's notion of the ideality of space and time.That is, the idea that space and time are not objective properties of things, but instead the subjective preconditions for experience itself.(Space and time are not 'out there' according to Kant, they are 'in here,' that is, in the mind of the experiencing subject.)To understand how he could reach such a strange conclusion you have to read CPR, and when you do, you'll realize how horribly this idea has been butchered by Emile Durkheim, whothought that space and time preceded experience because they are socially determined.In a slightly different vein, the reason why Max Weber makes such heavy weather about the artificiality of 'ideal types' is because the construction of concepts is the centerpiece of the Kantian conception of science, and Weber was very eager to make his sociology a science.Interested in why Levi-Strauss is concerned about the difference between 'percept' and 'concept'?See Kant.Why did my first graduate teacher, Michel-Rolph Trouillot, a renowned scholar of historical consciousness, stress so much the investigation of the 'conditions of possibility' not only of scholarly problematics, but also of social forms?Because this is the Kantian conception of 'critique,' which in CPR Kant applies to knowledge itself.This is of course a partial list drawn haphazardly from my own experiences, but it could be multiplied at will by scholars with different backgrounds.

But now to the most important question: Why should general readers tackle CPR?My short answer is that the entire Kantian apparatus of transcendental epistemology is aimed at addressing what for Kant were the basic and most important philosophical questions.Is there free will?Is the soul immortal?Does God exist?(Such questions seem almost quaint in comparison with the questions that most modern philosophy likes to ask about Kant such as 'Is mathematical knowledge synthetic a priori?')These three questions had been the province as much of theology as philosophy for the previous two thousand years.Kant's answer, which he considers definitive and unappealable, to these three questions is :'We cannot know.'But instead of basing such a negative and restrictive view on skeptical arguments that ultimately undermine the very belief in the existence of a real world at all, Kant develops this answer by asking how we can come to know the things that we do in fact know.His answer, which includes the frankly weird but compelling argument about the ideality of space and time, never doubts that we do in fact learn truths about the physical world through our senses.So, having answered in the negative the question of whether we can ever have knowledge of the ideals [free will, God, immortality] that concern humans the most, Kant concludes that the entire point of philosophy and of our 'faculty of reason' is to answer not epistemological questions, but the practical questions: How should we act?

Do I need to point out that this is a pressing real-life concern for us all?Nonetheless, the overall moral aim of CPR seems to be completely forgotten in most philosophical discussion of Kant, so I will let him have the (next to) last word: "It is evident that the ultimate intention of nature in her wise vision for us has indeed, in the constitution of our reason, been directed to moral interests alone" (A801/B829).

The reason why Kant bothered to write such a 'dry and obscure' work, is that he believed that only by definitively unencumbering ourselves from groundless 'certainties' about God, free will and the afterlife, could we ever fruitfully discuss how we ought to act and, I would add, how we ought to rule ourselves.

The conclusion?Kant is too important to be left to the philosophers.Read this book and become enlightened.

Great Edition
The Critique is one of the finest works in philosophy ever produced.
Reading it, thought, is always a difficult task due to the matter and Kant's way of presenting it. For many reasons, the translation from German to English is another problem and this edition makes more then a good job for the solution of both readability and translation.
Good Buy!

The Issue of Translation
Because of the very negative reviews of the Guyer/Wood translation on this page, I have been conflicted in determining which edition of Kant's first critique I should purchase.I recently saw the Max Muller translation re-released by Penguin, and was tempted to purchase that based on the recommendation by one of the reviewers here.Before I made a decision, however, I still wanted to do more research; this work is obviously of immense importance in the history of thought, making it crucial to acquire the best edition possible.

After much futile searching, I was informed that my university harbors a scholar of Kant and Schopenhauer who carries, at some level, international recognition.In fact, he is the translator of Schopenhauer's THE WORLD AS WILL AND REPRESENTATION, published by Prentice/Longman, a translation I would encourage you to pick up.You can find his name if you search for it here at Amazon.To get to the point, I contacted him expressing my concern over which translation of Kant's critique would be best, and this is what he said:

"I have to confess that I have not paid any attention to the Muller translation, probably because it is never cited by scholars working on Kant. That doesn't mean it's not good, but I just can't comment on that.

I will say that, unless one is working at the deeper levels of Kant scholarship - where one would presume at least some familiarity with German and sensitivity to spots in the translation where there are at least likely to be possible questions of translation - it almost certainly won't make much of a difference which of the translations you use. They are all at least that good.

The three translations that are cited by Kant scholars are those of Norman Kemp Smith and Guyer/Wood, but also the translation by Werner S. Pluhar (published by Hackett Publishing Company).In my own view, balancing out the good and bad points, it would be very difficult to say which one should prefer as a translation. But the Guyer/Wood edition has the advantage of a wealth of supplementary information in footnotes and endnotes.

Possibly the best thing you can do, if you want to go as deeply as you can in the absence of some knowledge of German, would be to use the Guyer/Wood, and take advantage of the notes, plus one of the other translations (even Muller's). In other words, read each portion of the text in the two translations."

I hope this advice helps any of you who, like me, are confused on which translation to get.I've decided to go with Guyer/Wood and Muller simultaneously.

Poor Binding
My review refers only to the binding of this book. The text itself I rate highly, with a few quibbles. But after a few months of moderate usage, the poor backing has caused the book to break into four pieces, with the pages flying out like a looseleaf. This trash binding is meant for a Romance novel, not a scholarly work. Perhaps the marketing target is undergraduates who will toss it away after a semester. Cambridge, serious readers and translators deserve better. ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more