Freedom and religion in Kant and his immediate successors : the vocation of humankind, 1774-1800 / George di Giovanni.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Di Giovanni, George, 1935-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804. Kritik der reinen Vernunft.

Kant, Immanuel.

Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804.

Philosophy and religion--History--18th century.

Philosophy and religion.

Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804--Religion.

Religion.

History.

Physical Description:

xvi, 373 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, U.K. ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Summary:

The Theologians of the late German Enlightenment saw in Kant's Critique of Pure Reason a new rational defense of their Christian faith. In fact, Kant's critical theory of meaning and moral law totally subverted the spirit of that faith.

This challenging new study examines the contribution made by the Critique of Pure Reason to this change of meaning. George di Giovanni stresses the revolutionary character of Kant's critical thought but also reveals how this thought was being held hostage to unwarranted metaphysical assumptions that caused much confusion and rendered the first Critique vulnerable to being reabsorbed into modes of thought typical of Enlightenment popular philosophy.

Among the striking features of this book are nunanced interpretations of Jacobi and Reinhold, a lucid exposition of Fichte's early thought, and a rare, detailed account of Enlightenment popular philosophy.

Contents:

1 Introduction: The Vocation of Humankind, 1774 1

1.1 The Theme 1

1.2 The System 6

1.3 The Presence of Jacobi 10

1.4 Polemical Notes 16

1.5 The Issue of Religion 24

1.6 Mapping out the Story 28

2 The Taming of Kant: Popular Philosophy 32

2.1 The Brilliant Immodesty of Kant 32

2.2 Popular Philosophy 37

2.3 Popular Philosophy and the Critique of Reason 49

2.4 The Culture of Feeling 55

2.5 The Return to Leibniz 58

2.6 Leibniz versus Kant? 62

3 The Intractable Kant: Schultz, Jacobi, Reinhold 66

3.1 The Canonical Interpretation 66

3.2 Jacobi's Realism 77

3.3 Reinhold's Pastiche 91

3.4 The Specter of Naturalism 104

4 Of Human Freedom and Necessity 108

4.1 The Classical Heritage 108

4.2 Reinhold versus Schmid 118

4.3 Rehberg and Kant 125

4.4 Jacobi on Spinozism and Human Freedom 137

4.5 Jacobi, Rehberg, and Reinhold versus Kant 150

5 Kant's Moral System 152

5.1 The Dogmatism of the Critique of Reason 153

5.2 The Gospel According to Kant 186

5.3 Kant's Way 202

6 The Difference That Fichte Made 205

6.1 The Debate on Freedom, Continued 205

6.2 The Gospel According to Fichte 210

6.3 Reinhold on Fichte and Kant 225

6.4 The Scandal That Fichte Was 237

7 The Parting of the Ways 242

7.1 Anno Domini 1799 242

7.2 Reinhold Converts Again 244

7.3 Jacobi's Cri de Coeur 264

7.4 Kant's Anathema 269

8 The Vocation of Humankind Revisited, 1800: Conclusion 271

8.1 New Book, Old Themes 272

8.2 The Critics, Old and New 285

8.3 Back to the Beginning 293.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 347-359) and index.

ISBN:

0521844517

OCLC:

55534881

Online:

Publisher description