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A Commentary on Kant's Critique of Practical Reason (Phoenix Books)

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'A Commentary on Kant's Critique of Practical Reason' (CPR) by Lewis White Beck was originally published in 1960, and re released by Phoenix Books in 1996. For those unfamiliar with the author Beck is a well known and respected Kantian scholar.

The second of Kant's three critiques, CPR provides a detailed exposition of the great man's moral philosophy. Kant posits that `pure' practical reason is a superior guide to moral behavior than either practical or applied reason. While Kant's ethical writings serve as the foundation for much subsequent moral philosophy, CPR has spawned few detailed commentaries compared to Kant's other major works. While at first glance this situation may seem odd, it is in large part due the text's accessible nature and the popularity of Kant's other moral writings. With regard to accessibility, by Kantian standards, CPR is a clear and well written text, and, as such, the reader/student requires limited assistance. While on the latter point, the shorter `Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals' is often the entry point to Kant's moral writings.

While Beck's commentary is a welcome addition to Kantian scholarship it is less than ideal as a guide. Ironically, the author's style (arguably more opaque than Kant's translated German) is his biggest challenge. His cumbersome prose combined with an overuse of technical language results in a difficult read. Even being familiar with CPR, it was a hard, and often tedious, task attempting to understand Beck's arguments.

Overall, while not a bad book it is probably only for serious Kantians. The non-expert reader may find that reading CPR in conjunction with a good philosophical dictionary/encyclopedia (e.g. Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy or the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (on-line)) to be a more fruitful approach.