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Practical Philosophy (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant)

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This is a very good collection of Kant's practical writings, but I strongly advise against buying the hardcover edition. The binding is very poor quality and it will inevitably crack the moment you open the book (I exchanged my first copy after it broke, but the second did the same). In short, if you're going to buy this book, buy the paperback edition and don't waste your money on the hardcover edition. The paper is of better quality in the paperback, and you won't have spent three times as much money for a poorer quality book.

This volume should become the indispensable English-language edition of Kant's practical works. The translations contained in this edition are top-notch, which is not to say that I agree with all the decisions made by Mary Gregor, the primary translator. However, unlike, say, the Cambridge Edition translations of the First and Third Critiques, Gregor's translations are arguably categorically better than all other English translations. I personally do not believe that to be the case, but the point is that such a case can plausibly be made, whereas it cannot be said with equal plausibility that the Guyer-Wood translation of the First Critique is categorically better than the Kemp Smith translation (I know others would beg to differ, but this is not the place to take up my disagrements with them; I would merely stress that I do not deny that Guyer-Wood have made many improvements over Kemp Smith).

Furthermore, the inclusion of The Metaphysics of Morals in its entirety ought to alleviate a certain one-sidedness in most treatments of Kant in introductory survey courses of the history of moral/political philosophy. These courses typically concentrate on the Grounding and the shorter essays--understandably so, given time contraints. Occasionally the Second Critique will be touched upon. Nor is this one-sidedness confined to survey or even advanced undergraduate courses. I have taken three graduate seminars on Kant and one on German Idealism in three departments at two different universities, and not once did I ever read The Metaphysics of Morals in its entirety. The student who wishes to gain a complete picture of Kant will be glad to have this important work included.

The convenience of having good translations of foundational works, unabridged and collected in a single volume, cannot be overstated. Every serious student of Kant, German Idealism, or moral or practical philosophy ought to own this book.

This is a great collection, especially for any student. It is by far the most complete set of translations of Kant's work available to the English speaking audience. Plus, it is a tribute to Mary J. Gregor that this edition exists. That Allen Wood inserted a dedication to her shows the importance of her life's work for anyone interested in Kant's ethical theory.

There is, however, one thing that I, as a student of philosophy, found troubling about this edition--it lacks adequate indexs. Don't get me wrong, it has indexes, but they are not nearly complete enough.

If you need a convenient, relatively light-weight volume of Kant's ethical writings, go for this edition. But if you are interested in in depth analysis of any of the texts, I'd go for the editions pubilished in the Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy set. The indexes here are much, much more complete. These editions also include thorough and detailed introductions but such respected Kant scholars as Christine Korsgaard and Roger Sullivan.

This is an important book for the scholarly readers who reads Kant in translation. Allen Wood's introduction is rather pointless, especially compared with the other ones(ex. Critique of Pure Reason). But Mary J. Gregor's translation is clear and brilliant.