The Arguments of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason [Paperback]

The importance of Immanuel Kant'sCritique of Pure Reasonin the history of philosophy is matched only by its difficulty. In particular, readers are often frustrated by how difficult it is to extract Kant's arguments from his dense prose. This book reconstructs, using the tools of propositional logic, the central arguments of theCritique. In all, the book reconstructs thirty-six of Kant's arguments spanning the Transcendental Aesthetic, Transcendental Analytic, and Transcendental Dialectic. For each argument, they begin with a quote from Kant's text followed by a synopsis that explains the argument informally. Finally, each synopsis is followed by a formal reconstruction of the argument. The synopses offer examples, metaphors, historical background, and objections/responses to aid the reader in appreciating Kant's arguments. Even though many readers who approach Kant for the first time have a good philosophical vocabulary, few will understand Kant's unique lexicon. In addition to formally reconstructing Kant's arguments, the book also includes a glossary that defines the technical terms that Kant uses in his arguments. Finally, since this book is directed largely at students, Bryan Hall enlisted two of his own students to ensure that the book is maximally student friendly. In contrast to most pedagogical philosophical literature, the content of this book has been tailored by students for students.Bryan Wesley Hallis assistant professor in the school of arts and letters at Indiana University Southeast.

There are now several first-rate secondary texts on Kant's first Critique available, including Gardner'sKant and the Critique of Pure Reasonand Altman'sCompanion to Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. But Bryan Hall'sThe Arguments of Kant'sCritique of Pure Reason is not only every bit as excellent as these other texts, it is unique. It is a secondary text that carefully, critically, and specifically addresses, step-by-step, thel³¤