Critique of Practical Reason

by Immanuel Kant, Abbott, Thomas Kingsmill (Translator)

Overview

The second of Kant's three critiques, Critique of Practical Reason forms the center of Kantian philosophy; published in 1788, it is bookended by his Critique of Pure Reason and Critique of Judgement. With this work Kant establishes his role as a vindicator of the truth of Christianity; he approaches his proof by presenting positive affirmation of the immortality of the soul and the existence of God. The philosopher offers an argument concerning the summum bonum of life: people should not simply search after happiness, but follow the moral law and seek to become worthy of the happiness that God can bestow.
This Critique comprises three sections: the Analytic, the Dialectic, and the Doctrine of Method. The Analytic defines the ultimate moral principle, the categorical imperative, and argues that to obey it is to exercise a freedom. The Dialectic make the assumption that immortality and God exist, arguing that pure practical reason falls into error when it expects perfection in this world; we should anticipate finding perfection in the next world, with God's help. The final section, the Doctrine of Method, offers suggestions in educating people in the use of pure practical reason.
A seminal text in the history of moral philosophy, this volume offers the most complete statement of Kant's theory of free will and a full development of his practical metaphysics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780486434452
Publisher:	Dover Publications
Publication date:	02/02/2004
Series:	Dover Philosophical Classics
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	852,084
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1170L (what's this?)

About the Author

Werner S. Pluhar is Affiliate Professor of Philosophy, Pennsylvania State University, Fayette.

Table of Contents

Dedication.
Translator's Preface.

Introduction by Stephen Engstrom:
1. The Place of the Critique of Practical Reason within Kant's Critical Philosophy.
2. The Relation of the Critique of Practical Reason to Kant's Ethics.
3. The Practical Purpose of the Critique of Practical Reason.
4. Showing the Practicality of Pure Reason:
A. The Idea of a Principle of Practical Reason.
B. Theorems about Practical Principles.
C. Practical Laws and Freedom.
D. The Basic Law of Pure Practical Reason.
E. Autonomy and Freedom.
5. Can the Highest Principle of Practical Reason Be Justified?
6. The Effects of Pure Practical Reason:
A. Defining the Concept of an Object of Practical Reason.
B. The Subjective Effects of Pure Practical Reason.
7. The Highest Good and the Antimony of Practical Reason.
8. Conclusion.

Critique of Practical Reason

Part I: Doctrine of the Elements of Pure Practical Reason

Book I: Analytic of Pure Practical Reason

Chapter I: On the Principles of Pure Practical Reason.
Chapter II: On the Concept of an Object of Pure Practical Reason.
Chapter III: On the Incentives of Pure Practical Reason.

Book II: Dialectic of Pure Practical Reason

Chapter I: On a Dialectic of Pure Practical Reason as Such.
Chapter II: On a Dialectic of Pure Reason in Determining the Concept of the Highest God.

Part II: Doctrine of the Method of Pure Practical Reason

Conclusion.

Selected Bibliography.
Glossary.
Index.

Editorial Reviews

A translation of Kant's Kritik der praktischen Vernunft, completed by H. W. Cassirer in 1976 (his first draft was written 30 years earlier), and lightly prepared for publication posthumously by editors G. Heath King and Ronald Weitzman. Cassirer aimed to provide a technically accurate rendering of Kant's text which is attentive to the spirit as well as the letter of Kant's original, while showing the movement of his thinking as it unfolds. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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