Idealism and Freedom
Essays on Kant's Theoretical and Practical Philosophy

This volume collects all Henry Allison's recent essays on Kant's theoretical and practical philosophy.

Henry E. Allison (Author)

9780521483377, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 26 January 1996

240 pages
22.8 x 15 x 1.5 cm, 0.372 kg

"Allison's book is a counter-example to the myth that all Kant commentators are grouchy and obscure. He is clear, generous to his critics, and writes well. Of course, he is known for all of this plus strong sensible interpretations...Allison's fairness and clarity convince this reader in almost every case." - International Studies in Philosophy, Sidney Axinn

Henry Allison is one of the foremost interpreters of the philosophy of Kant. This new volume collects all his recent essays on Kant's theoretical and practical philosophy. All the essays postdate Allison's two major books on Kant (Kant's Transcendental Idealism, 1983, and Kant's Theory of Freedom, 1990), and together they constitute an attempt to respond to critics and to clarify, develop and apply some of the central theses of those books. Two are published here for the first time. Special features of the collection are: a detailed defence of the author's interpretation of transcendental idealism; a consideration of the Transcendental Deduction and some other recent interpretations thereof; further elaborations of the tensions between various aspects of Kant's conception of freedom and of the complex role of this conception within Kant's moral philosophy.

Part I. Kant's theoretical philosophy: 1. Transcendental idealism: a Retrospective
2. Reflections on the B-deduction
3. Apperception and analyticity in the B-deduction
4. On naturalizing Kant's transcendental psychology
5. Gurwitsch's interpretation of Kant: reflections of a former student
6. Causality and causal law in Kant: a critique of Michael Friedman
7. Kant's refutation of materialism
Part II. Kant's practical philosophy: 8. Kant on freedom: a reply to my critics
9. Autonomy and spontaneity in Kant's conception of the self
10. On the presumed gap in the derivation of the categorical imperative
11. Kant's doctrine of obligatory ends
12. Reflections on the banality of (radical) evil: a Kantian analysis
Notes
Index.

Subject Areas: Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900 [HPCD]