Kant and the Critique of Pure Reason

by Sebastian Gardner

Kant's Critique of Pure Reason is arguably the single most important work in western philosophy. The book introduces and assesses:

* Kant's life and background of the Critique of Pure Reason
* the ideas and text of the Critique of Pure Reason
* the continuing relevance of Kant's work to contemporary philosophy.

Ideal for anyone coming to Kant's thought for the first time. This guide will be vital reading for all students of Kant in philosophy.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Metaphysics, Theory, 18th Century

392 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[Bjbernis Bernis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's face it: KANT IS HARD. Kant is probably the most difficult philosopher to understand. But to his defense, he was charged with the task of determining the exact nature and limits to pure reason (i.e. cogent thought), which would be hard for anyone to put forth in under 500 pages.

Sebastian Gardner, having the foresight of many generations, has written this guidebook to Kant which, in my opinion, is absolutely fundamental to understanding such a complex and revolutionary philosopher. It's easy to get confused and to lose sight of the overall arguments that Kant is trying to create. Consider this book an expert in philosophy who reads Kant along with you...like some kind of magic fairy that's forced to cater to your every whim. Except your whim is learning philosophy. Even if you had gold bars, you'd still need to learn philosophy. Don't forget that.

[Walter Schutjens · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an honor to have had S. Gardner as a professor for the past term, I owe him and his book so much in giving me a thorough understanding of Kant.
The best way to put this book is that: whatever question you hold, Gardner will anticipate this and answer it in the next sentence. It is written very well and covers the relevant content in such a way that you feel as if you have simultaneously dealt with the primary and secondary literature on Kant. Gardner does obviously leam towards a more analytical interpretation of Kant, but lends an honest reading to the Idealist position. He takes us through each section, writing especially lucidly on the Transcendental Aesthetic and its implications for justificatory philosophy.
I was lucky to be able to attend his office hours to clarify all the questions I had, bur I’m sure with a close reading of this book you will get just as much out of the experience.

S. Gardner god amongst mortals - looking forward to read his stuff on Sartre !

[Catachresis · Rating 5 out of 5]

For any serious student of Kant, this book is indispensable, either as an introduction to the Critique or as an alternative source of insight to those such as Allison and other well known Kantian scholars. The main thing I would emphasise here is just how well-written this guide is. It really offers a perfect balance between density and level of explanation for each Kantian theme/ concept; of course, I lie a little, since there really is no 'perfect' level of explanation, or we would need only one book on Kant. Bottom line, summarising the critique in 300 pages of paperback or so is no easy task, and I don't think it's a task that anyone has done better than Gardner does here.

I would also recommend the book as an introduction to philosophy at large for anyone with a serious appetite for an overview of philosophy's 'chocolate box' so to speak (its array of questions and ideas), but with a decent, well-written level of explanation that doesn't dumb things down. The reason being, of course, that the Critique itself touches on pretty much every question out there in philosophy; so in reading the perfect 300 page summary of it, you could start in far worse places than here for an overview of the subject. Just don't forget to read the original text first, of course (easier said than done, wink, wink).

One of the reviewers said something about the book leaving them 'more confused than the original text'. To be perfectly honest, anyone holding that view probably isn't best equipped to study Kant in the first place. It's no easy book, and nor should it be, but it is the most perfectly judged example I have found on how to summarise the critique in this amount of space.

Read this book and bask in the joy of Transcendental Psychology!

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

can’t think of a better introductory text to accompany the CPR! Gardner’s guide provides much needed historical context to shine a light on some of the more technical problems Kant aimed to solve.

tldr; better intro than you’d get reading the SEP

[A. B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kant makes all the philosophers I have hitherto read look like amateurs. Utterly fascinating.

Will probably set the tone for what I read about for a while.

[Onuro · Rating 4 out of 5]

can I move on to Hegel now please

[Seamusin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would title this book "A Weak Defence of Kant". The author seems quite sympathetic to Kant's theories, to the extent that his writing even seems to be influenced by Kant's. Which is not a good thing. The first and last sections were written fine, and communicate good stuff... but the middle (mainly chapters 6 and 7) were less readable than Kant himself.

He does outline often how and where Kant is criticised, and attempts defences. However the majority of it is sketchy and weak, with a lot of reasoning going like 'if you accept claim X, then all is well', where claim X has itself already been questioned in like manner, building a web of tangled reliances that lead me to question whether the author suffers from cognitive dissonance: does he really hold Kant's theories to still offer merit, despite all the holes he himself acknowledges?

He clearly understands Kant superbly. The book would have been vastly improved if he just been a bit more critical.

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book I understand Kant only a little better than previously: that is to say, only such that I can understand the goal of his project, but not the end result. This was recommended to me as the best introduction to Kant, and i don’t doubt it; clearly Kant is beyond my intellectual capacity.

[Cai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well you couldn't accuse him of oversimplifying ! As Bernard Williams once said Alain de Botton it is not

[Plato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been abusing this book for many essays this semester on the CPR and other students should do the same

[Chris Isherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sebastian Gardner wrote the introduction to the Kemp Smith “Commentary” on Kant so he is the real deal. This guide is very well structured in that it provides a road map to the Critique of Pure Reason. I found this book, at times, fascinating and frustrating, or maybe even irritating. The author sometimes forgot his audience and disappeared into hyperbole. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if the audience is not fresh to Kant; this book is definitely NOT for Kant-curious people. To be honest, it was as difficult as reading the man himself (though he’s not really himself…right?) Anyway…This book is worth a read if you an already fluent in Kant-speak and/or willing to go the long hard slog. It’s a textbook that you dive into now and then to help elucidate on complex ideas. If you’re new to Kant then I’d suggest A Very Short Introduction series to begin with….preferably sitting on the toilet so you have plenty of time to “ponder” and then just read Kant. After that mind zapping experience , read this book by Gardner…if you read this book first you’ll neve read Kant!

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read the whole of this (in fact I don't think I even read half, which is a real shame), but simply being able to flick through the chapters and use it as a helping hand whilst struggling through Kant's Critique was a great weight off my shoulders!

[Caomhghain · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, clear concise introduction to the first Critique which covers every aspect. It is not the very first commentary one should read perhaps (Yoval's is better for that) but definitely the second and far more comprehensive.

[HappyHarron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read parts alongside Henry Allison's book but it was very helpful.

[John Willmott · Rating 3 out of 5]

why did I start with this one I want to kms

[Meg]

It goes very far in making an immensely difficult philosopher as accessible as possible. The constant vacillation between clarity and deep incomprehension is most likely my own.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

With this commentary, Sebastian Gardner helpfully introduces readers to one of the most complex texts in the history of philosophy. Gardner, a well-known Kant scholar and expert in German Idealism, strives in earnest to interpret Kant charitably and to reconcile ostensible tensions in the Kantian project. As Gardner observes, Kant is one of very few philosophers whose system one can reasonably endorse in its entirety, and Gardner seeks to present that system in its most persuasive form, even if he cannot comprehensively treat each of its many nuances in an introductory commentary. At the same time, Gardner is not blind to the weaknesses of the first critique, which he carefully explains and evaluates. Without Gardner, I surely would have been lost in my attempts to make sense of the transcendental deduction and Kant’s resolution of the antinomies of pure reason. Beyond these explanatory efforts, however, Gardner contextualizes the publication of the Critique with an eye toward Kant’s other work and the philosophical milieu of his day. He also helpfully describes its reception by contemporary and subsequent thinkers and the natural evolution of transcendental idealism into absolute idealism. For those with only a superficial familiarity with Kant, this volume is sufficiently in-depth so as to aid one’s encounter with and assessment of the first critique while also appropriately introductory—Gardner does not presume his reader’s acquaintance with transcendental idealism or Kant’s critical project. Given the myriad intricacies of the Critique of Pure Reason, this volume is immensely valuable to students new to Kant and his revolutionary intervention in the history of philosophy.

[Pranjal Student · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many entry points currently to Kant. The academic standard seems to be Norman Kemp, or Paul Guyer. The current Cambridge volumes on Kant, led by Prof. Guyer, seems to be most cited too.

However all these commentaries are quite difficult to understand for beginners. This is aggravated by the fact that Paul Guyer's analysis rejects more than half of Kant's original project.

Prof. Gardner's introduction is very readable and it also puts forward the 'Analytic Interpretation' (Guyer/Strawson's) alongside his own more true-to-Kant Idealist interpretation.

Prof. Gardner always begins with a lucid readable exposition of the text, and then a brief digression into the contemporary debates over that material.

The impossible Trans. Deduction is explained very lucidly. As are the Analogies. Probably will do well alongside Pulhar's readable but simplified translation.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is often regarded as the best exposition of the KrV, but for me it was more confusing than the text itself.

[Luke Echo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather good introductory exegesis of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.

[Natasha Onoshko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review on the blog:
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