Kant in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes) [Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Paul Strathern (Author), Robert Whitfield (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2003 | Series: Philosophers in 90 Minutes

In Kant in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of Kant's life and ideas, and explains their influence on man's struggle to understand his existence in the world. The book also includes selections from Kant's work; a brief list of suggested reading for those who wish to push further; and chronologies that place Kant within his own age and in the broader scheme of philosophy.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Strathern, a graduate of Dublin's Trinity College, has lectured in philosophy and mathematics and written history, travel literature, and fiction. His attempt to provide the reader with accessible guidance to the ideas of a half dozen great names in the canon of Western philosophy fails on all counts except readability. The time given in the title for each presentation is about three times that even the least-informed reader might require, for these books are nothing but outlines. Half of each volume highlights the more peculiar details of the individual philosopher's personal life, with passing remarks about one or two substantive ideas from his work. The remaining pages include surprisingly brief quotations from the works (an epigraphic style suitable to presenting a sample of Nietzsche's writing but hardly appropriate to Kant's), chronologies (including one five-page "Philosophical Dates" that is repeated in each tiny volume), and a suggestion of four or five books for further reading. The intended audience for this series is unclear as there is too little substance to provide either the sort of introduction offered by such competing works as the Writers and Readers's illustrated series "For Beginners" (e.g., Robert Cavalier's Plato for Beginners, 1990) or critical understanding of difficult concepts as Frederick Copleston and William Jones have achieved in their histories of Western thought (e.g., Copleston's A History of Philosophy, 1985). Strathern's publisher promises more than a dozen future volumes in this series but, given the severe limitations of the first six under review here, it is not possible to recommend that we look forward to them.?Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Well-written, clear and informed, they have a breezy wit about them...I find them hard to stop reading. (Bernstein, Richard New York Times )

Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise. (Jim Holt Wall Street Journal )

Each of these little books is witty and dramatic and creates a sense of time, place, and character...I cannot think of a better way to introduce oneself and one's friends to Western civilization. (Katherine A. Powers Boston Globe )

A godsend in this era of the short attention span. (Daryl Royster Alexander New York Times )

A concise, expert account of Kant's life and ideas. (Library Journal ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged edition (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786190426
• ISBN-13: 978-0786190423
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,216,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Learn Kant in 90 Minutes? Not With This Book, December 10, 2000

By 

Edward Garea "Edward Garea" (Branchville, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kant in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series) (Paperback)

Immanuel Kant has a well deserved reputation as one of the most difficult philosophers to read and to study. His writing style is, to be generous, rather convoluted. One could only imagine Kant's laundry lists: they must be pages and pages in length.

So it comes as no surprise that a Get-Kant-Quick book would be desired by many intelligent readers who do not have the time to translate the English translation of Kant's writings into English. And there are such books out there that will enable one to do just that. Unfortunately, this isn't one of them.

Don't be taken in by the inexpensive price - all you really get for your shekels is a cursory summary of Kant's life and thought, with more emphasis on the biography than the thought. A dialogue on Kant's metaphysics follows. Add to that short passages from Kant's writings, and timeline chronologies of Kant's life and the history of philosophy. All this for about $6.00.

For a few dollars more, you can buy Karl Jaspers's excellent short book on Kant taken from his "Great Philosophers" books. The difference between Paul Strathern and Karl Jaspers is that between a backyard barbeque cook and the Iron Chef.

To illustrate my point in this regard, consider Strathern's discussion of Kant's Categorical Imperative. While he takes the first part into account, "Act as if what you do should be a universal law," he forgets the second part, "Treat others as ends and not as means." Strathern gives us an example of Kant being asked by the Nazis as to the whereabout of a Jewish friend. Strathern noted that, according to Kant's own dictum, to tell a lie even to a murderer is wrong. But he then notes that perhaps "his highly active mind would quickly discovered a duty which forbade him to hand over his friend. If Strathern had taken the time to digest the complete Categorical Imperative, he would have the answer. (A Kantian would replay that, although he knows where his friend is, he could not turn the friend over, for the person is an end and not a means to an end.)

Jaspers knew this, and so does Scruton: the difference between spending you money and getting your money's worth.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars 20 minutes was enough., September 9, 2008

By 

Dirty Dingus Magee - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kant in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series) (Paperback)

Great book if you're interested in Kant's severe bouts of constipation in his later life..

At the very worst, Strathern actually tries to discourage you from reading Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, exclaiming that it's over 800 pages then proceeding to quote a small portion to demonstrate how impenetrable the text is.

He explains very little of Kant's thought but is very successful in telling more than I ever needed to know about Kant's non-eventful personal life.

The philosophical equivalent of an E! True Hollywood Story.

3.0 out of 5 stars Gives a feel for Kant's life and mission, that's about it., December 29, 2011

By 

Dionysius "Observer" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kant in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series) (Paperback)

After reading this, I came away with a definite feeling for Kant's life, homeplace, and mission. I also had a feel for Kant's rather unusual personality and interests in life. However, in regards to Kant's actual ideas and philosophy, I was still quite unclear as to the real "meat" behind what thousands of other philosophy books have been written about. The only really clear concept was the "categorical imperative", and as alluded to by other reviewers, even this was not entirely correct. Hence I can't say this book delivers essentially on what Kant was about.