Kant: A Complete Introduction: A Teach Yourself Guide

Kant: A Complete Introduction is designed to give you everything you need to succeed, all in one place. It covers the key areas that students are expected to be confident in, outlining the basics in clear jargon-free English, and then providing added-value features like summaries of key books, and even lists of questions you might be asked in your seminar or exam. The book uses a structure that mirrors many university courses on Freud and psychoanalysis - explaining and contextualizing Kant's theories, which have been among the most influential in Philosophy. The book starts by introducing Kant and his way of thinking and arguing, before looking at how Kant answered three key questions: What can I know? What should I do? What may I hope? In doing so, Professor Wicks introduces the reader to all of Kant's key work, including The Critique of Pure Reason. Teach Yourself titles employ the 'Breakthrough method', which is designed specifically to overcome problems that students face. - Problem: I find it difficult to remember what I've read. Solution: this book includes end-of-chapter questions and summaries, and flashcards of key points available on-line and as apps - Problem: Most books mention important other sources, but I can never find them in time. Solution: this book includes key texts and case studies are summarized, complete with fully referenced quotes ready to use in your essay or exam. - Problem: Lots of introductory books turn out to cover totally different topics than my course. Solution: this book is written by a current university lecturer who understands what students are expected to know. Cover Book title Contents Introduction How to use this book Section One: Background 1 Life and writings 2 Kant’s way of thinking and arguing 1 Aristotelian logic and the elementary judgement, S is P 2 Abstraction as a way of thinking 3 Searching for underlying presuppositions Section Two: What can we know? 3 Kant’s theory of knowledge 1 British empiricism: questioning the foundations of science 2 Kant’s theory of judgement: questioning the foundations of empiricism 3 Intuitions and concepts 4 Space and time: the structure of the faculty of sensibility 1 Newton and Leibniz on space and time 2 Kant: space and time as a priori intuitions 3 How are (some) synthetic a priori judgements possible? 4 Some objections to Kant’s theory of space and time 5 Aristotelian logic: the structure of the faculty of understanding 1 Aristotelian logic 2 The pure concepts of the understanding 6 The transcendental deduction 1 The transcendental deduction: first edition, ‘A’ version 2 The transcendental deduction: second edition, ‘B’ version 7 Substance, causality and objectivity 8 Metaphysical knowledge of the human soul 1 The paralogisms of pure reason – the nature of the self 9 Metaphysical knowledge of the world and of God’s existence 1 The antinomy of pure reason – the nature of the world 2 The ideal of pure reason – the knowledge of God Section Three: What should we do? 10 Freedom and moral awareness 11 The morality of self-respect 1 Duty and the moral law 2 The categorical imperative 12 God, virtue and evil 1 The ‘realm of ends’ and the highest good 2 Virtue 3 The problem of evil Section Four: What is the meaning of beauty? 13 Beauty in its formal purity 14 Human beauty and fine art 1 Beauty mixed with sensory and conceptual content 2 Artistic genius as the expression of aesthetic ideas 15 Sublimity, beauty, biology and morality 1 Aesthetic ideas and morality 2 Sublimity and morality 3 Beauty as the symbol of morality 4 Living things and our moral destiny Section Five: For what may we hope? 16 Perpetual peace as the next great step 17 Conclusion: Kant’s influence Further reading Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Written by Robert Wicks, a recognised Kant specialist who teaches at the University of Auckland, Kant: A Complete Introduction is designed to give you everything you need to succeed, all in one place. It covers the key areas that students are expected to be confident in, outlining the basics in clear jargon-free English, and then providing added-value features like summaries of key books, and even lists of questions you might be asked in your seminar or exam. The book uses a structure that mirrors many university courses on Freud and psychoanalysis - explaining and contextualising Kant's theories, which have been among the most influential in Philosophy. The book starts by introducing Kant and his way of thinking and arguing, before looking at how Kant answered three key questions: What can I know? What should I do? What may I hope? In doing so, Professor Wicks introduces the reader to all of Kant's key work, including The Critique of Pure Reason. Teach Yourself titles employ the 'Breakthrough method', which is designed specifically to overcome problems that students face. - Problem: "I find it difficult to remember what I've read."; Solution: this book includes end-of-chapter questions and summaries, and flashcards of key points available on-line and as apps - Problem: "Most books mention important other sources, but I can never find them in time."; Solution: this book includes key texts and case studies are summarised, complete with fully referenced quotes ready to use in your essay or exam. - Problem: "Lots of introductory books turn out to cover totally different topics than my course."; Solution: this book is written by a current university lecturer who understands what students are expected to know. "Kant: A Complete Introduction" provides everything you need to succeed, all in one place. It covers the key areas that students are expected to be confident in, outlining the basics in clear jargon-free English, and then providing added-value features like summaries of key books, and even lists of questions you might be asked in your seminar or exam. The book starts by introducing Kant and his way of thinking and arguing, before looking at how Kant answered three key questions: What can I know? What should I do? What may I hope? In doing so, Professor Wicks introduces you to all of Kant's key work, including The Critique of Pure Reason. "Kant: A Complete Introduction covers the key areas that students are expected to be confident in, outlining the basics in clear English, and then providing added-value features like summaries of key books, and even lists of questions you might be asked in your seminar or exam. In doing so, Professor Wicks introduces you to all of Kant's key works, including The Critique of Pure Reason"--Page 4 of cover "The masterclass for the faster pass" - written by a leading expert and practising university teacher, this book gives you all the key knowledge and information you need to succeed quickly and easily.