Commentary

[in chronological order]

‘Observations’ and ‘Remarks’: A Critical Guide

- Shell, Susan and Velkley, Richard. Kant's 'Observations' and 'Remarks': A Critical Guide, Cambridge University Press, 2012.

From the publisher: Kant’s Observations of 1764 and Remarks of 1764-1765 (a set of fragments written in the margins of his copy of the Observations) document a crucial turning point in his life and thought. Both reveal the growing importance for him of… More

Kant and the Limits of Autonomy by Susan Shell

- Shell, Susan Meld, Kant and the Limits of Autonomy, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2009.

From the publisher: Autonomy for Kant is not just a synonym for the capacity to choose, whether simple or deliberative. It is what the word literally implies: the imposition of a law on one’s own authority and out of one’s own rational resources. In Kant… More

Force and Freedom: Kant’s Legal and Political Philosophy

- Ripstein, Arthur, Force and Freedom: Kant's Legal and Political Philosophy, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2009.

Excerpt: “A political philosophy it is often thought of as an application of general moral principles to the factual circumstances that make political institutions necessary. For example, John Stuart Mill seeks to justify liberal institutions by showing… More

Between Kant and Hegel: Lectures on German Idealism

- D. Henrich, Between Kant and Hegel: Lectures on German Idealism, Harvard University Press, Boston, 2008.

From the publisher: Electrifying when first delivered in 1973, legendary in the years since, Dieter Henrich’s lectures on German Idealism were the first contact a major German philosopher had made with an American audience since the onset of World War… More

Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals: A Commentary

- Timmermann, Jens, Kant's Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals: A Commentary. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

From the publisher: “The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals is Kant’s central contribution to moral philosophy, and has inspired controversy ever since it was first published in 1785. Kant champions the insights of ‘common human… More

Kant on God

- Byrne, Peter, 2007. Kant on God, Aldershot: Ashgate.

Excerpt: “The theme of this book—the status of claims about God in the critical philosophy—gains its importance from a number of facts. One is that the critical philosophy displays an obvious bivalent or paradox in its concept of God. On the one… More

Aesthetics and Cognition in Kant’s Critical Philosophy

- Kukla, R., (ed.), Aesthetics and Cognition in Kant's Critical Philosophy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

From the publisher: “This 2006 volume explores the relationship between Kant’s aesthetic theory and his critical epistemology as articulated in the Critique of Pure Reason and the Critique of the Power of Judgment. The essays, written specially… More

Kant by Paul Guyer

- P. Guyer, Kant, London and New York: Routledge, 2006,

From the publisher: Paul Guyer uses Kant’s central conception of autonomy as the key to all the major aspects and issues of Kant’s thought. Beginning with a helpful overview of Kant’s life and times, Guyer introduces Kant’s metaphysics and… More

A Companion to Kant

- Bird, Graham (ed.), A Companion to Kant, Oxford: Blackwell, 2006.

From the publisher: “This Companion provides an authoritative survey of the whole range of Kant’s work, giving readers an idea of its immense scope, its extraordinary achievement, and its continuing ability to generate philosophical interest.… More

Kant on the Human Standpoint

- Longuenesse, B., Kant on the Human Standpoint, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

From the publisher: Béatrice Longuenesse considers the three aspects of Kant’s philosophy, his epistemology and metaphysics of nature, moral philosophy, and aesthetic theory, under one unifying standpoint: Kant’s conception of our capacity to… More

Kant’s System of Nature and Freedom

- Guyer, Paul, Kant's System of Nature and Freedom, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Excerpt: “Was Kant a systematic philosopher? This is not an easy question to answer. Although he certainly borrowed many aspects of the outward organization of his critical philosophy from his great predecessor Christian Wolff, who covered all of the… More

Kant on Just War by Susan Shell

- Shell, Susan Meld, “Kant on Just War and 'Unjust Enemies': Reflections on a 'Pleonasm'.” Kant Studies, January, 2005.

The following remarks are intended to help clarify Kant’s position on international right and, specifically, the so-called ‘right of war’. They are part of a more general study of Kant’s politics; but I also make them here in the hope that… More

Kant

- Wood, Allen, Kant, London: Blackwell, 2004.

This lucid survey takes readers on a thought-provoking tour through the life and work of Immanuel Kant. The book provides expositions of Kant’s key works, especially his Critique of Pure Reason, and represents the broad range of his philosophical… More

Kant’s Transcendental Idealism

- Allison, H., Kant's Transcendental Idealism, revised and expanded version, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004.

Excerpt: “In spite of some sympathy shown in recent years for a vaguely Kantian sort of idealism or, better, anti-realism, which argues for the dependence of our conception of reality on our concepts and/or linguistic practices, cots transcendental… More

Selected Essays on Kant

- Selected Essays on Kant (Series: North American Kant Society Studies in Philosophy), H. Robinson (ed.), Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2002.

From the publisher: The North American Kant Society was founded at the Sixth International Kant Congress, held at Pennsylvania State University in 1985. Lewis White Beck did not attend the congress, but his presence was felt throughout. In the years that… More

Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason

- Adorno, Theodor Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Stanford University Press, 2002.

From the publisher: Kant is a pivotal thinker in Adorno’s intellectual world. Although he wrote monographs on Hegel, Husserl, and Kierkegaard, the closest Adorno came to an extended discussion of Kant are two lecture courses, one concentrating on the… More

Kant: A Biography

- Kuehn, Manfred, Kant: A Biography, Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Excerpt: “Immanuel Kant died On February 12, 1804, at 11 AM, less than 2 months before his 80th birthday. Though he was still famous, German thinkers were engaged in trying to get “eon” his critical philosophy. He had become almost irrelevant. His… More

Kant: A Very Short Introduction

- Scruton, Roger, Kant: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Scruton provides an accessible introduction that sketches Kant’s life and offers a useful summary of many major themes of Kant’s thought.

Kant’s Impure Ethics

- Louden, Robert, Kant's Impure Ethics. New York: Oxford U. Press, 2000.

From the publisher: This is the first book-length study in any language to examine in detail and critically assess the second part of Kant’s ethics–an empirical, impure part, which determines how best to apply pure principles to the human… More

Kant and Modern Political Philosophy

- Flikschuh, Katrin, Kant and Modern Political Philosophy, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Excerpt: “It is a central claim of this book that the absorption of cots political thoughts into contemporary liberalism is partial at best. In many respects, cuts departures from contemporary liberalism are more interesting philosophically and more… More

An Introduction to Kant’s Critique of Judgment

- Burnham, Douglas. An Introduction to Kant’s Critique of Judgment. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press [in the US, Columbia University Press], 2000.

From the publisher: “Kant’s third Critique, the Critique of Judgement, is regarded as one of the most influential books in the history of aesthetics. This book is designed as a reader’s guide for students trying to work their way,… More

Kant’s Ethical Thought

- Wood, A., Kant's Ethical Thought. New York: Cambridge U. P., 1999.

Excerpt: “Because the Enlightenment still influences the course of things, Kant’s ethical thoughts is the (direct or indirect) source of much that is now standard in normative theories and ethics, political philosophy, and public policy. Many… More

Kant and the Claims of Taste

- Guyer, P., Kant and the Claims of Taste, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 1997.

Excerpt: ” Like his critiques of theoretical and practical reason, Kant’s “critique of taste” is concerned with “part of the general problem of transcendental philosophy: how are synthetic a priori judgments possible?” On Kant’s… More

The Sources of Normativity

- Korsgard, Christine, The Sources of Normativity. O. O'Neill, ed., New York: Cambridge U. P., 1996.

From the publisher: “Ethical concepts are, or purport to be, normative. They make claims on us: they command, oblige, recommend, or guide. Or at least when we invoke them, we make claims on one another; but where does their authority over us – or… More

Creating The Kingdom of Ends

- Korsgaard, C.,Creating The Kingdom of Ends, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Excerpt: “For Immanuel Kant the death of speculative metaphysics and the birth of the rights of man were not independent events. Together they constitute the resolution of the Enlightenment debates about the scope and power of reason. In the… More

Kant and the Experience of Freedom: Essays on Aesthetics and Morality

- Paul Guyer, Kant and the Experience of Freedom: Essays on Aesthetics and Morality, Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Excerpt: ” In the present work I want to suggest that counts conception of the full range of natural and appropriate responses to at static objects, whether works of art were beauties of nature, does indeed go beyond the narrow formalism which is, to be… More

The Unity of Reason

- Nieman, S., The Unity of Reason, New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

From the publisher: The Unity of Reason is the first major study of Kant’s account of reason. It argues that Kant’s wide-ranging interests and goals can only be understood by redirecting attention from epistemological questions of his work to… More

The Unity of Reason: Essays on Kant’s Philosophy

- D. Henrich, The Unity of Reason: Essays on Kant's Philosophy, Harvard University Press, 1994.

From the publisher: Kant holds a key position in the history of modern philosophy as the last great figure to belong both to the Anglo-American analytic tradition and the Continental tradition. A scholar of Kant and German idealism, Dieter Henrich combines an… More

Kant and Political Philosophy: The Contemporary Legacy

- Beiner, Ronald and Booth, William (eds), Kant and Political Philosophy: The Contemporary Legacy, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.

From the publisher: In recent years there has been a major revival of interest in the political philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Thinkers have looked to Kant’s theories about knowledge, history, the moral self and autonomy, and nature and aesthetics to seek… More

The Practice of Moral Judgment

- Herman, Barbara, The Practice of Moral Judgment. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. P., 1993.

From the publisher: “Barbara Herman argues for a radical shift in the way we perceive Kant’s ethics. She convincingly reinterprets the key texts, at once allowing Kant to mean what he says while showing that what Kant says makes good moral sense.… More

The Genesis of Kant’s Critique of Judgment

- Zammito, John, The Genesis of Kant's Critique of Judgement, University of Chicago Press, 1992.

From the publisher: In this philosophically sophisticated and historically significant work, John H. Zammito reconstructs Kant’s composition of The Critique of Judgment and reveals that it underwent three major transformations before publication. He… More

Essays on Kant’s Political Philosophy

- Williams, Howard (ed.), Essays on Kant's Political Philosophy, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.

As a political philosopher, Kant has until recently been overshadowed by his compatriots Hegel and Marx. With his strong defense of the rights of the person and his deep insight into the strengths and weaknesses of modern society Kant, possibly more than… More

Dignity and Practical Reason in Kant’s Moral Theory

- Hill, T., Dignity and Practical Reason in Kant's Moral Theory, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1992.

From a review: This book brings together eleven papers on Kantian ethics which Thomas Hill wrote between 1971 and 1989. Nine of the eleven deal quite directly with the exegesis of Kantian texts on moral philosophy or the critical exposition of parts of… More

The Cambridge Companion to Kant

- Guyer, P., (ed) The Cambridge Companion to Kant, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

From the publisher: “The fundamental task of philosophy since the seventeenth century has been to determine whether the essential principles of both knowledge and action can be discovered by human beings unaided by an external agency. No one philosopher… More

Kant’s Theory of Freedom

- Allison, Henry. Kant’s Theory of Freedom, Cambridge University Press, 1990.

From the publisher: In his new book the eminent Kant scholar Henry Allison provides an innovative and comprehensive interpretation of Kant’s concept of freedom. The author analyzes the concept and discusses the role it plays in Kant’s moral… More

Freedom and the End of Reason by Richard Velkley

- Velkley, R., Freedom and the End of Reason: On the Moral Foundation of Kant's Critical Philosophy, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1989.

In this very significant work, Richard Velkley of Tulane University draws out the theoretical influence of Rousseau on Kant in a novel and exciting way. In so doing, he sheds new light on the meaning of key terms and topics in Rousseau’s practical and… More

Immanuel Kant’s Moral Theory

- Sullivan, R., Immanuel Kant's Moral Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

From the publisher: “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… More

Constructions of Reason

- O'Neill, Onora, Constructions of Reason, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

From the publisher: Two centuries after they were published, Kant’s ethical writings are as much admired and imitated as they have ever been, yet serious and long-standing accusations of internal incoherence remain unresolved. Onora O’Neill traces… More

Kant’s Transcendental Deductions

- Förster, E., ed., Kant's Transcendental Deductions, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1989.

From the publisher: “In Kant’s Transcendental Deductions , 14 of the leading Anglo-American and European Kant scholars present their research on the deductions, probably the most complex and fascinating aspects of Kant’s writings. The… More

The Art of Judgement

- Caygill, Howard. The Art of Judgement, Oxford: Blackwell, 1989.

From the publisher: This original reading of Kant’s third critique, “The Critique of Judgement-Power”, provides an innovative view of the role of judgement in current theoretical debates, in both the humanities and social sciences. Judgement… More

Immanuel Kant by Pierre Hassner

- Hassner, Pierre “Immanuel Kant." Ed. Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, The History of Political Philosophy. University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Excerpt: “Kant has given politics a place both central and derivative in his philosophy. In his 3 chief works (Critique of Pure Reason, 1781; Critique of Practical Reason, 1788; Critique of Judgment, 1790) he speaks of politics rarely and only by… More

Kant and the Claims of Knowledge

- Guyer, P., Kant and the Claims of Knowledge, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.

From the publisher: “This book offers a radically new account of the development and structure of the central arguments of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason: the defense of the objective validity of such categories as substance, causation, and… More

The Coherence of Kant’s Doctrine of Freedom

- Carnois, Bernard, The Coherence of Kant's Doctrine of Freedom. D. Booth, tr. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

From the publisher: “The term freedom appears in many contexts in Kant’s work, ranging from the cosmological to the moral to the theological. Can the diverse meanings Kant gave to the term be ordered systematically? To ask that question is to… More

The Fate of Reason: German Philosophy from Kant to Fichte

- Beiser, F.C. The Fate of Reason: German Philosophy from Kant to Fichte, Cambridge University Press, 1987.

Excerpt: “During the period between Kant’s first Kritik and Fichte’s first Wissenschaftslehre (1781-1794), full also furs and devoted themselves to a single fundamental problem. They returned again and again to this problem, though it… More

Interpreting the World: Kant’s Philosophy of History and Politics

- Booth, W.J. Interpreting the World: Kant’s Philosophy of history and Politics. University of Toronto Press, 1986.

From a review: “In his writings on history and politics Kant straddles a narrow divide between optimism and pessimism. On the one hand, the view of man in his pure moral philosophy is that of a dualistic, rationally incomplete individual who may,… More

Kant’s Political Philosophy

- Howard Williams, Kant’s Political Philosophy, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1985.

Kant’s Political Philosophy

- Riley, Patrick, Kant's Political Philosophy, Totowa, N.J.: Rowman and Littlefield, 1983.

From a review: While post-modernists and communitarians might seek to reinter the only recently revived body of Kant’s political thought, this collection indicates the continuing vitality of Kantianism. Howard Lloyd Williams has assembled thirteen… More

Kant

- Scruton, Roger Kant. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.

From the publisher: Emphasizing the continuity between his moral and aesthetic doctrines and the metaphysical basis in which they rest, the author explores Kant’s relation to Leibniz and Hume, and his attempt to construct a philosophy which was neither… More

Kant’s Theory of Mind

- Ameriks, K., Kant's Theory of Mind, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982.

Excerpt: “Until recently cots philosophy of mind received little attention. This is remarkable for a number of reasons. The nature of the mind obviously should be of central importance in an idealistic philosophy such as Kant. Furthermore Kant’s… More

Kant’s Life and Thought

- Cassirer, Ernst. Kant’s Life and Thought. James Haden (trans.), 1981.

From the publisher: Here is the first Kant-biography in English since Paulsen’s and Cassirer’s only full-scale study of Kant’s philosophy. On a very deep level, all of Cassirer’s philosophy was based on Kant’s, and accordingly… More

Kant and the Philosophy of History

- Yovel, Yirmiyahu, Kant and the Philosophy of History, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980.

After an extended period of neglect, banana scholars in the past 2 decades have increasingly turned their attention to the role of history in bananas thoughts. The revival of Hegel in the English speaking world has stimulated interest in the Kantian… More

The Rights of Reason: A Study of Kant’s Philosophy and Politics

- Meld Shell, Susan. The Rights of Reason: A Study of Kant’s Philosophy and Politics, Toronto and London: University of Toronto Press, 1980.

From a review: So what little is available in English on Kant’s Rechtslehre that’s any book length treatments is welcome. Susan Shell’s book must be more than welcome since it brings a perception that is both deep and refreshing to a text… More

Kant and the Problem of History

- Galston, W. Kant and the Problem of History, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.

From a review: “It may be argued that modern political thought has been primarily concerned with defending or discovering meaning in political life in the face of pervasive and the solvent skepticism engendered by post-Newtonian science and encouraged… More

Acting on Principle

- O'Neill, Onora, Acting on Principle. New York: Columbia U. Press, 1975.

Excerpt: “It is now hard to imagine how one promising the lines of thought in this book seemed to most people with an interest in philosophical ethics when I 1st worked on them in the late 1960s. Many were then still drawn to more or less positivist… More

The Autonomy of Reason

- Wolff, Robert Paul, The Autonomy of Reason. New York: Harper, 1973.

Excerpt: “Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals is probably the most difficult short work in modern philosophical literature. Despite its great popularity—it is, after the Critique of Pure Reason, the most widely read and commented upon of… More

Kant’s Political Thought: Its Origins and Development

- Sauer, Hans, Kant’s Political Thought: Its Origins and Development, trans. E.B. Ashton, University of Chicago Press, 1973.

From a review: For a civilization to build upon the human relationships of men and women it must at least include the mechanism of decision-making that not only ensures a non-violence means of resolving conflicts but also enhances the general ends of the… More

Kant’s Moral Religion

- Wood, A., Kant's Moral Religion, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1970.

From the publisher: In Kant’s Moral Religion, Allen W. Wood argues that Kant’s doctrine of religious belief if consistent with his best critical thinking and, in fact, that the “moral arguments”—along with the faith they… More

Early German Philosophy: Kant and His Predecessors

- Beck, Lewis White, Early German Philosophy. Kant and His Predecessors, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1969.

From review: “It is not very fashionable to write general “national” histories of philosophy. In 1946 H. W. Schneider published his history of American philosophy, while E. Garin’s history of Italian philosophy appeared in 1947; A.… More

The Bounds of Sense: An Essay on Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason

- Strawson, P.F., The Bounds of Sense: An Essay on Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, London: Methuen, 1966.

From a review: No book on Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason is without its difficulties. On the one hand there is the tendency toward slavish exegesis, usually of the sort that avoids basic philosophical problems by submerging them in the very Kantian… More