Critique of Practical Reason [Paperback]

Immanuel Kant (Author), Lewis W. Beck (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1978 | ISBN-10: 0672602237 | ISBN-13: 978-0672602238 | Edition: First Edition

With this volume, Werner Pluhar completes his work on Kant's three Critiques, an accomplishment unique among English language translators of Kant.

At once accurate, fluent, and accessible, Pluhar's rendition of the Critique of Practical Reason meets the standards set in his widely respected translations of the Critique of Judgment (1987) and the Critique of Pure Reason (1996).

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Bobbs-merrill Co; First Edition edition (January 1, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672602237
• ISBN-13: 978-0672602238
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,724,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was one of the most influential philosophers of all time. His comprehensive and profound thinking on aesthetics, ethics, and knowledge has had an immense impact on all subsequent philosophy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars christian apologetics? did you actually read the book?, May 6, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Critique of Practical Reason (Great Books in Philosophy) (Paperback)

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."

9 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making the ideas stick, October 6, 2005

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FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Critique of Practical Reason (Paperback)

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.

7 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding book, April 20, 2000

By 

Antonio Carlos S. de Lima - See all my reviews

This review is from: Critique of Practical Reason (Great Books in Philosophy) (Paperback)

It has been more than 200 years since this book was firstpublish (1788) and it remains actual, so this shows the uniqueness ofKant's work. There is no doubt that the philosopher born in Koenigsberg in 1724 is among of the greatest thinkers of all time. In "Critical of Practical Reason", Immanuel Kant continues his explorations in the procedures of knowledge, understanding and experience started at 'Critical of Pure Reason."... When you read this book it becomes clear why such a philosopher was so important in the development of the science in the 19th and 20th century where the discussion about analysis, synthesis and causality remains open END