Kant's 'Critique of Practical Reason': A Critical Guide

by Andrews Reath, Jens Timmermann

Overview

The Critique of Practical Reason is the second of Kant's three Critiques, and his second work in moral theory after the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Its systematic account of the authority of moral principles grounded in human autonomy unfolds Kant's considered views on morality and provides the keystone to his philosophical system. The essays in this volume shed light on the principal arguments of the second Critique and explore their relation to Kant's critical philosophy as a whole. They examine the genesis of the Critique, Kant's approach to the authority of the moral law given as a 'fact of reason', the metaphysics of free agency, the account of respect for morality as the moral motive, and questions raised by the 'primacy of practical reason' and the idea of the 'postulates'. Engaging and critical, this volume will be invaluable to advanced students and scholars of Kant and to moral theorists alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107675384
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/30/2013
Series:	Cambridge Critical Guides
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Andrews Reath is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. He is the author of Agency and Autonomy in Kant's Moral Theory (2006) and the co-editor (with Barbara Herman and Christine M. Korsgaard) of Reclaiming the History of Ethics: Essays on John Rawls (Cambridge, 1997).

Jens Timmerman is Senior Lecturer in Moral Philosophy at the University of St Andrews. He is the author of Kant's 'Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals': A Commentary (Cambridge, 2007) and Sittengesetz und Freiheit (2003), as well as the editor of Immanuel Kant, Kritik der Reinen Vernunft (1998) and Immanuel Kant, Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten (2004).

Table of Contents

Preface; Introduction Andrews Reath; 1. The origin and aim of Kant's Critique of Practical Reason Heiner F. Klemme; 2. Formal principles and the form of a law Andrews Reath; 3. Moral consciousness and the 'fact of reason' Pauline Kleingeld; 4. Reversal or retreat? Kant's deductions of freedom and morality Jens Timmermann; 5. The Triebfeder of pure practical reason Stephen Engstrom; 6. Two conceptions of compatibilism in the critical elucidation Pierre Keller; 7. The antinomy of practical reason: reason, the unconditioned, and the highest good Eric Watkins; 8. The primacy of practical reason and the idea of a practical postulate Marcus Willaschek; 9. The meaning of the critique of practical reason for moral beings: the doctrine of method of pure practical reason Stefano Bacin; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...This collection of essays is diverse and engaging. The essays are of wide theoretical interest and deftly address issues of interpretation along with broader normative issues arising from Kant's Groundwork. Striking a nice balance of interpretive and normative concerns, each essay draws on a wide variety of sources, including not only Kant, but also his sympathetic commentators and his detractors. Those in either camp are well-advised to give these essays their attention."
—Elizabeth Foreman, Saint Louis University, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews


"...This volume represents a refreshing turn in the literature on Kant, is well informed by the relevant literature, whereas the arguments are coherently rendered and classified."
—George Lăzăroiu, PhD, Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, New York, Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice

From the Publisher