Starting with Kant

Description

Immanuel Kant is undoubtedly one of the most important thinkers in the history of philosophy. He is also notoriously difficult for beginners to understand. Starting with Kant offers a genuinely accessible introduction to the metaphysics, theory of knowledge, and moral philosophy of this hugely influential figure. It assumes no prior acquaintance with his ideas. Thematically structured, the book opens with a completely non-technical overview of the development of Kant's mature thought, resulting in a wide-ranging understanding of his famous and ground breaking 'Copernican revolution in metaphysics'. The book evaluates the basic framework of his metaphysical outlook, and sets out its implications for his theory of knowledge and moral philosophy. Kant's position in these fields is related to other philosophers of his period so that a number of his seminal ideas can be clearly understood through an appreciation of their opposing views. This is the ideal introduction for anyone coming to the work of his hugely important thinker for the first time.

Andrew Ward is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of York, UK.

'Ward is refreshingly sympathetic to Kant's philosophy, and he defends it against a range of criticisms. He expounds Kant's metaphysics and ethics with admirable clarity, and since he closely follows Kant's own order of exposition in the first two Critiques, readers can easily use this book as a guide to their own reading of the texts. Throughout, Ward rightly stresses that Kant's ethics can be understood only in the context of his metaphysics, and thus presents his philosophy as an organic whole.' -- George MacDonald Ross, Visiting Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at University of Leeds, UK.