‘Kant in 90 Minutes’ by Paul Strathern is an very very short introduction to Kant. This book is a very short, brief and amusing guide book to Kant’s philosophy. The main content ‘Kant’s Life & Works’ is a biographical description of Kant’s life along with works and philosophy. Biographical description composes from Kant’s family roots, student day, his academic career (private teacher, lecturer of natural philosophy), his modest monotonous private life style and rigid routine, his stoic and abstinent characteristics, and Kant’s late in life. Philosophical description composes the philosophical and scientific state in Europa in Kant’s era, influences by Newton, Hume and Rousseau, how Kant created his critique philosophy and brief and to the point commentary to series of his ‘Critiques’, ‘Critique of Pure Reason’ (metaphysical part of Kantian system), ‘Critique of Practical Reason’ (ethical part of Kantian system), ‘Critique of Judgement’ (Kant’s consideration on aesthetic judgement and theology). Main account of this book is commentary on Kant’s three critiques, especially metaphysics of ‘Critique of Pure Reason’.
In ‘A Dialogue on Kant and Metaphysics’ Strathern comments mean of metaphysics, historical transition of metaphysics Aristotle, Hume to modern philosophy, how Kant think knowledge and judgement in his metaphysics. And author explains Kant’s peculiar ‘a priori concepts of our understanding’ like below. ‘The way Kant saw them, the “forms of our understanding” (space and time), as well as the “categories of our understanding” (including existence, necessity and so on), are undeniably metaphysical. We may consider space and existence to be “out there” in the physics of our experience, but Kant did not. So his argument against metaphysics applies equally to them. We can make no synthetic a priori statements about them. They are not scientific, they are not analytic, and they are not logically necessary: they are metaphysical. And if, on the other hand they are “out there” in our experience, they certainly cannot be a priori concepts of our understanding.’ Finally he added Kant’s link of metaphysical perception and moral.
The biological description of this book is clear and amusing. And the commentary to Kant’s critique philosophy is essential but brief and short. So I recommend this book as a first book to beginners in Kant and Philosophy.
Kant in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series)
Paul Strathern
Ivan R. Dee, Chicago, September 1 1996
95 pages $9.95
ISBN: 978-1-56663-123-5
Contents:
Introduction
Kant’s Life and Works
A Dialogue on Kant and Metaphysics
From Kant’s Writing
Chronology of Significant Philosophical Dates
Chronology of Kant’s Life
Chronology of Kant’s Era
Recommended Reading
Index