The Unity of Reason : Rereading Kant

The Unity of Reason : Rereading Kant

Author: Susan Neiman Professor of Philosophy Tel Aviv University

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1994-05-26

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 0199772118

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The Unity of Reason is the first major study of Kant's account of reason. It argues that Kant's wide-ranging interests and goals can only be understood by redirecting attention from epistemological questions of his work to those concerning the nature of reason. Rather than accepting a notion of reason given by his predecessors, a fundamental aim of Kant's philosophy is to reconceive the nature of reason. This enables us to understand Kant's insistence on the unity of theoretical and practical reason as well as his claim that his metaphysics was driven by practical and political ends. Neiman begins by discussing the historical roots of Kant's conception of reason, and by showing Kant's solution to problems which earlier conceptions left unresolved. Kant's notion of reason itself is examined through a discussion of all the activities Kant attributes to reason. In separate chapters discussing the role of reason in science, morality, religion, and philosophy, Neiman explores Kant's distinctions between reason and knowledge, and his difficult account of the regulative principles of reason. Through examination of these principles in Kant's major and minor writings, The Unity of Reason provides a fundamentally new perspective on Kant's entire work.


The Unity of Reason

The Unity of Reason

Author: Susan Neiman

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 9780195067682

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The first major study of Kant's account of reason, The Unity of Reason argues that Kant's wide-ranging interests and goals can only be understood by redirecting attention from the epistemological questions in his work to those concerning the nature of reason. Rather than accepting a notion of reason given by his predecessors, a fundamental aim of Kant's philosophy is to reconceive the nature of reason. This enables us to understand Kant's insistence on the unity of theoretical and practical reason as well as his claim that his metaphysics was driven by practical and political ends. Susan Neiman begins by discussing the historical roots of Kant's conception of reason and by showing Kant's solution to problems which earlier conceptions left unresolved. Kant's notion of reason itself is examined through a discussion of all the activities Kant attributes to reason. In separate chapters discussing the role of reason in science, morality, religion, and philosophy, Neiman explores Kant's distinctions between reason and knowledge, and his difficult account of the regulative principles of reason. Through examination of these principles in Kant's major and minor writings, The Unity of Reason provides a fundamentally new perspective on Kant's entire work.


Moral Clarity

Moral Clarity

Author: Susan Neiman

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2009-09-06

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 0691143897

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"Neiman reclaims the vocabulary of morality--good and evil, heroism and nobility--as a lingua franca for the twenty-first century. In constructing a framework for taking responsible action on today's urgent questions, [she] reaches back to the eighteenth century, retrieving a series of values--happiness, reason, reverence, and hope--held high by Enlightenment thinkers. In this ... updated edition, Neiman reflects on how the moral language of the 2008 presidential campaign has opened up new political and cultural possibilities in America and beyond"--Back cover.


Evil in Modern Thought

Evil in Modern Thought

Author: Susan Neiman

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2015-08-25

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 0691168504

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Whether expressed in theological or secular terms, evil poses a problem about the world's intelligibility. It confronts philosophy with fundamental questions: Can there be meaning in a world where innocents suffer? Can belief in divine power or human progress survive a cataloging of evil? Is evil profound or banal? Neiman argues that these questions impelled modern philosophy. Traditional philosophers from Leibniz to Hegel sought to defend the Creator of a world containing evil. Inevitably, their efforts--combined with those of more literary figures like Pope, Voltaire, and the Marquis de Sade--eroded belief in God's benevolence, power, and relevance, until Nietzsche claimed He had been murdered. They also yielded the distinction between natural and moral evil that we now take for granted. Neiman turns to consider philosophy's response to the Holocaust as a final moral evil, concluding that two basic stances run through modern thought. One, from Rousseau to Arendt, insists that morality demands we make evil intelligible. The other, from Voltaire to Adorno, insists that morality demands that we don't.


Culture and Enlightenment

Culture and Enlightenment

Author: Paul Crittenden

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-11-22

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 1351749293

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This title was first published in 2002: Culture and Enlightenment are the two words that best characterise the essence of György Markus's career, in whose honour this book is published. Markus devoted the last twenty years of research towards a theory of cultural objectivations and their pragmatics, and the great depth of his knowledge of the history of culture and philosophy informs all his teaching and writing. The pursuit of Enlightenment ideals attains reflective self-consciousness in Markus' works; forged in the knowledge of its own historicity, of the embeddedness of rationalities in culture and in an awareness of the paradoxes that cling to the conscious affirmation of ideals which are no longer self evident or beyond questioning. In taking up the challenge of these paradoxes, Markus spans the whole history of modern philosophy and culture with a matchless authority. This book draws together contributions from leading figures in contemporary philosophy, who are also friends, colleagues and former students of György Markus. The book is divided into two sections: the first presents critical assessments of various aspects of Markus' wide-ranging works; the second presents contributions in celebration of his influence and his wide interests. In their critical assessment of Markus' work and in the demonstration of his influence, the contributors hope to convey something of the breadth and something of the excitement of doing philosophy in the company of György Markus.


Beyond Legal Reasoning: a Critique of Pure Lawyering

Beyond Legal Reasoning: a Critique of Pure Lawyering

Author: Jeffrey Lipshaw

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-03-27

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 1315410796

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The concept of learning to ‘think like a lawyer’ is one of the cornerstones of legal education in the United States and beyond. In this book, Jeffrey Lipshaw provides a critique of the traditional views of ‘thinking like a lawyer’ or ‘pure lawyering’ aimed at lawyers, law professors, and students who want to understand lawyering beyond the traditional warrior metaphor. Drawing on his extensive experience at the intersection of real world law and business issues, Professor Lipshaw presents a sophisticated philosophical argument that the "pure lawyering" of traditional legal education is agnostic to either truth or moral value of outcomes. He demonstrates pure lawyering’s potential both for illusions of certainty and cynical instrumentalism, and the consequences of both when lawyers are called on as dealmakers, policymakers, and counsellors. This book offers an avenue for getting beyond (or unlearning) merely how to think like a lawyer. It combines legal theory, philosophy of knowledge, and doctrine with an appreciation of real-life judgment calls that multi-disciplinary lawyers are called upon to make. The book will be of great interest to scholars of legal education, legal language and reasoning as well as professors who teach both doctrine and thinking and writing skills in the first year law school curriculum; and for anyone who is interested in seeking a perspective on ‘thinking like a lawyer’ beyond the litigation arena.


The Kantian Sublime and the Revelation of Freedom

The Kantian Sublime and the Revelation of Freedom

Author: Robert R. Clewis

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2009-04-09

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0521516684

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This book shows how certain crucial concepts in Kant's aesthetics and practical philosophy fit together and deepen our understanding of his thought.


The A to Z of Kant and Kantianism

The A to Z of Kant and Kantianism

Author: Helmut Holzhey

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 0810875942

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Few philosophers stand out as boldly as Immunuel Kant (1724-1804). His principal works, including Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Practical Reason, and Critique of Judgement, are known worldwide. During his time, schools of Kantianism quickly sprang up and were later joined by schools of Neokantianism. Admittedly, not all of Kant's concepts have aged well, but many are still taught today among the basics of philosophy. --


Kant and the Human Sciences

Kant and the Human Sciences

Author: A. Cohen

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2009-10-22

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 0230280773

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This book provides the first sustained attempt to extract from Kant's writings on biology, anthropology and history an account of the human sciences, their underlying unity, their presuppositions as well as their methodology; that is to say, Kant's philosophical and epistemological foundation of the human sciences.