Description
Book SynopsisKant's
Critique of Pure Reason has had, and continues to have, an enormous impact on modern philosophy. In this short, stimulating introduction, Michael Pendlebury explains Kant's major claims in the
Critique, how they hang together, and how Kant supports them, clarifying the way in which his reasoning unfolds over the course of this groundbreaking work.
Making Sense of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason concentrates on key parts of the
Critique that are essential to a basic understanding of Kant's project and provides a sympathetic account of Kant's reasoning about perception, space, time, judgment, substance, causation, objectivity, synthetic
a priori knowledge, and the illusions of transcendent metaphysics.The guiding assumptions of the book are that Kant is a humanist; that his reasoning in the
Critique is driven by an interest in human knowledge and the cognitive capacities that underlie it; and that he is not a skeptic, but accepts that human
Trade ReviewI have finally found the book I need for my undergraduate classes on Kant’s
Critique of Pure Reason. This clearly written, lively, engaging book explains and motivates central ideas in Kant’s famous, difficult work in a way that will be invaluable for anyone new to the
Critique. * Lucy Allais, jointly appointed as Professor of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University and the University of the Witwatersrand *
A reliable and user-friendly introduction to Kant’s daunting masterpiece. Pendlebury treats the main topics of the first
Critique in an order specifically chosen to aid comprehension. This book will be ideal for leisure readers and for teachers seeking a compact guide for undergraduate courses. But graduate students and seasoned scholars will also find much value in this rich and intelligent work. * Ian Proops, Professor in Early Modern Philosophy, The University of Texas at Austin, USA *
This is a very impressive introduction to one of the most challenging works in the history of philosophy. Pendlebury writes fluidly and vividly, and gives the reader an opinionated view of the text that functions to reveal Kant’s insights in a clear and accessible way. Core arguments and central themes are handled with a confidence that will aid both the student approaching this text for the first time and those looking to deepen their understanding. * John Callanan, Reader in the Department of Philosophy, King's College London, UK *
Table of ContentsPreface How to Use This Book Note on Citations of and Quotations from Kant’s Works 1. Background 1.1 The Basic Structure of Our World 1.2 Knowledge and Reality 1.3 The Critique of Pure Reason
2 The Preface and the Introduction: Two Types of Metaphysics 2.1 A Science of Metaphysics? (Bvii–xxxi) 2.2 A Priori Cognition (B1–10) 2.3 The Analytic/Synthetic Distinction (B10–12) 2.4 Synthetic a Priori Judgments and Knowledge (B12–24) 2.5 Transcendental Philosophy (B24–7)
3 The Transcendental Aesthetic: Sensibility, Space, and Time 3.1 Intuitions, Appearances, and the Forms of Sensibility (B33–7) 3.2 The Presentation of Space (B37–41) 3.3 The Reality of Space (B42–5) 3.4 The Presentation and Reality of Time (B46–58)
4 The Metaphysical Deduction: Judgments, Concepts, and Categories 4.1 Sensibility and Understanding (B74–6) 4.2 Concepts and Judgments (B91–4) 4.3 Forms of Judgment and Categories (B95–101 and 106–13) 4.4 Synthesis (B102–5)
5 The Analogies and the Postulates: Fundamental Principles about Substance, Causation, Community, and Modality 5.1 The System of Principles (B187–9, 193–203, and 207–8) 5.2 Experience and Objectivity (B218–24) 5.3 The First Analogy: Substance (B224–32) 5.4 The Second Analogy: Causation (B232–56) 5.5 The Third Analogy: Community (B256–62) 5.6 The Postulates: Possibility, Actuality, and Necessity (B265–74 and 279–82) 5.7 The Unity of Nature (B263–5)
6 The Transcendental Deduction: Why Intuitions Fall Under Categories 6.1 The Challenge (B116–29) 6.2 Apperception and Judgment: Why Intuitions Must Fall Under Categories (B129–43) 6.3 Interlude (B144–9 and 152–9) 6.4 Figurative Synthesis: Why Intuitions Can Fall Under Categories (B150–2 and 159–69) 6.5 Dreams, Hallucinations, and Seemings
7 The Schematism: How Intuitions Fall Under Categories (B176–87) 7.1 Transcendental Schemata as Criteria 7.2 Sensible and Empirical Schemata and the Synthesis of Imagination 7.3 Transcendental Schemata as Forms of Imaginative Synthesis 7.4 An Overview of Kant’s Account of Synthetic a Priori Knowledge
8 The Dialectic: The Limits of Speculative Reason 8.1 Ideas and Illusions (B368–75 and 390–3) 8.2 The Paralogisms: The Soul (B399–415 and 421–8) 8.3 The Antinomy: Nature (B432–48, 525–35, and 556–60) 8.4 The First Antinomy: The Limits of Nature (B454–7 and 545–51) 8.5 The Second Antinomy: The Divisibility of Substance (B462–5 and 551–5) 8.6 The Third Antinomy: Freedom and the Laws of Nature (B472–5 and 560–86) 8.7 The Fourth Antinomy: The Necessity of Nature (B480–3 and 587–95) 8.8 The Ideal: God (B595–619, 624–9, 632–4, 637–8, and 653–6) 8.9 The Regulative Function of Ideas (B670–9, 536–7, 644–8, and 708–16)
9 Taking Stock 9.1 Transcendental Idealism and Things in Themselves (B274–9 and 288–94) 9.2 Kant’s Achievement
Notes Bibliography Index of Citations of Passages in the Critique of Pure Reason Index of Subjects and Names
