Baumgarten and Kant on Metaphysics

by Courtney D. Fugate (Editor), John Hymers (Editor)

Overview

Baumgarten and Kant on Metaphysics explores the metaphysics of Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (17141762) and its decisive influence on Immanuel Kant. For over a century, scholars have recognized the significance of Baumgarten's Metaphysics, both because of its impact on Kant's intellectual development, and because of the way it fundamentally informed the work of generations of German philosophers, including Moses Mendelssohn, Thomas Abbt, Johann Gottfried Herder, Solomon Maimon, Johann August Eberhard, and arguably even Georg Friedrich Hegel. However, Baumgarten's Metaphysics has only recently become available in reliable German and English translations; as such, many scholars have been excluded from the discussion and the significance of Baumgarten's work has remained largely unexplored. Thus with the appearance of these translations, interest in Baumgarten's work has surged. This collection provides an anchor for this emerging discussion by presenting chapters by some of the scholars most responsible for Baumgarten's current reputation, together with some of the best young scholars in this emerging field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780192543776
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	05/30/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	630 KB

About the Author

Courtney D. Fugate is Associate Professor of Civilization Studies and Philosophy at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He is co-editor and translator of both Alexander Baumgarten's Metaphysics: A Critical Translation with Kant's Elucidations, Selected Notes and Related Materials (Bloomsbury, 2013) and Johann August Eberhard's Preparation for Natural Theology: With Kant's Notes and the Danzig Rational Theology Transcript (Bloomsbury 2016), and author of The Teleology of Reason: A Study of the Structure of Kant's Critical Philosophy (de Gruyter, 2014). He also has forthcoming Kant's 'Critique of Practical Reason': A Reader's Guide (Bloomsbury). John Hymers is Associate Professor of Philosophy at La Salle University, Philadelphia, where he teaches Modern Philosophy. Most recently, he is co-editor and translator of both Alexander Baumgarten's Metaphysics: A Critical Translation with Kant's Elucidations, Selected Notes and Related Materials (Bloomsbury, 2013) and Johann August Eberhard's Preparation for Natural Theology: With Kant's Notes and the Danzig Rational Theology Transcript (Bloomsbury 2016). He earned his PhD at KU Leuven (Belgium) under William Desmond, and is the author of articles on Ludwig Feuerbach and environmental philosophy. Former managing editor of Ethical Perspectives, Hymers has also published many translations from Dutch and German.

Table of Contents

Introduction, Courtney D. Fugate and John Hymers
1. Baumgarten's Rationalism, Brandon C. Look
2. Determination, Determinability, and the Structure of Ens: Baumgarten's Ontology and Beyond, Angelica Nuzzo
3. Baumgarten's Theory of Freedom: A Contribution to the Wolff-Lange Controversy, Clemens Schwaiger
4. Baumgarten, Wolff, Descartes, and the Origins of Psychology, Gary Hatfield
5. Between Wolffianism and Pietism: Baumgarten's Rational Psychology, Corey W. Dyck
6. Baumgarten and Kant on Clarity, Distinctness, and the Differentiation of our Mental Powers, Rudolf A. Makkreel
7. Contradiction and Privation: Baumgarten and Kant on the Concept of Nothing, John Hymers
8. Baumgarten and Kant on Existence, Courtney D. Fugate
9. Baumgarten, Kant, and the Refutation of Idealism, Paul Guyer
10. Freedom of the Will in Baumgarten and Kant's ML1, Henry E. Allison
11. Wolff, Baumgarten, and the Principle of Thoroughgoing Determination in Kant's Opus postumum, Jeffrey Edwards

Editorial Reviews

"Fugate attempts to place the study of Baumgarten's relation to Kant on a more solid foundation by clarifying some basic concepts of Baumgarten's metaphysical work and by showing that many of Kant's criticisms against him were more of a program than based on solid arguments. This move reflects the claim that seems to drive the whole volume, namely, that a serious investigation of Baumgarten's work can help us both in better understanding the manifold background of pre-Kantian German philosophy and the undeniable revolutionary nature of Kant's achievements. This is definitely the main and very welcome contribution of the volume to the most recent trend in the history of German modern philosophy." — Paola Rumore, Università degli Studi di Torino, Journal of the History of Philosophy

From the Publisher