Kant (Past Masters) [Paperback]

Roger Scruton (Author)

Book Description

Series: Past Masters | Publication Date: September 1, 1983

Kant is arguably the most influential modern philosopher, but also one of the most difficult. Roger Scruton tackles his exceptionally complex subject with a strong hand, exploring the background to Kant's work and showing why the Critique of Pure Reason has proved so enduring.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 1, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192875779
• ISBN-13: 978-0192875778
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oddly terrific- who got Scruton to do this?, July 1, 2000

By 

James Versluys - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kant (Past Masters) (Paperback)

I don't know who foisted off the job of introducing Kant to the intellectual masses, but the could not have chosen better. My teeth hurt when I think about introducing Kant to neophytes. I still don't know how he did it, because I can't explain Kant to anyone without having them instantly MEGO (my eyes glaze over) and run crying to thre corner of the room.

There is a lot that could be called contentious in this book (too much to go into) but that isn't a bad point about any book on Kant- there are no uncontentious books on Kant except biographies. All told, what I disagree with Scruton on is overshadowed by the mass of things he got right or even better than I have (no mean feat).

It is assured Scruton's interpretations of Kant will become mainstream simply because he is the only man alive to make immediately intelligable sense of the man. Remember, Kant was the man HL Mencken attributed the incredibly funny comment

"Kant was the worst writer on earth before Marx. He had many ideas, and some of them quite simple, but he always managed to make them seem unintelligable. I hope he is in hell"

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars David Wang, June 1, 2000

By 

David Wang (Washington (the state), USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kant (Past Masters) (Paperback)

Scruton's book on Kant is, in my view, the best book available on Kant if the goal is to get a quick overview of the philosopher's "Critical System." This is a short and concise book and it does the impossible: summarize Kant's three critiques (of Pure Reason, of Practical Reason and of Judgment) in a pocket-sized book. And it is very readable. I generally really enjoy Scruton's writings; he is one of the few commentators who can write about philosophical matters in an understandable fashion for the common reader. This is doubly amazing since Scruton himself is a first rate philosopher...

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and no dumbed down account of Kant, March 24, 2000

By A Customer

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This review is from: Kant (Past Masters) (Paperback)

This book may serve as both an introduction to Kant or, for those with interest but little time to tackle Kant, an excellent summary of the key arguments that made Kant famous. Scruton is in obvious awe of Kant's contribution to philosophty (rightly so) and astonishingly presents Kant without a lot of the impenetrable phrases Kant cooked up to explain himself.