Customer Reviews

Critique of Pure Reason

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

The Critique is often dense and it is consistently challenging. But this is the key to Kant and time spent with him is never wasted. Kemp Smith's commentary is available in paper and is extremely helpful. Working through Kant's philosophy can actually be exhilarating and sharing his view of the philosophical topography is something no one should deny themselves.

Even a summary of Kant is never easy to read. The unedited real thing is extremely difficult for anyone not (a) totally enthusiastic, (b) extremely familiar with philosophical concepts, and (c) very very smart. Because I didn't fall in any of the above categories (being, in Kant's words, a "common man of the commonest intelligence"), Kant's critique was lost of me. My heart goes out to those, like me, who are required to read it.

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 the side of the perceiving subject, and not independently real. But what remains, if we remove space/time from the objects? Such considerations may twist the brain, but are quite amusing and may sharpen ones mental faculties.

"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.

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.

With each page my heartrate accelerated and I lost breath. I don't read much philosophy, although I did like 'Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus.' My friend recommended this to me after I had expressed some doubts as to the validity of my statements on a DMV form. I crawled into my airport locker, not expecting much, but BANG!

Instantly I was catatpulted into a world of guns, suits, and scandanavian women, metaphysically speaking. This book has a reputation for being dull. But, like any good mystery, it captivates and forces you to read on just to find out what happens at the end. And, boy, are you in for a surprise! Who stole the glacier? Will Hegel succeed in his plan to ressurect the Vikings? And what Adalbert and his bra collection? (metaphysically speaking, of course) Good for holidays, vacations, and airplanes, I loved this read. More punches than the Prolegomena, and more slaps than Faust.

Yes, sorry to say it, but this "father of modern philosophy" is truly punishing. I remembered that Nietzsche hated Kant, but I didn't know why till I read this...