Freedom After Kant: From German Idealism to Ethics and the Self

(Paperback, NIPPOD)

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Freedom after Kant situates Kants concept of freedom in relation to leading philosophers of the period to trace a detailed history of philosophical thinking on freedom from the 18th to the 20th century. Beginning with German Idealism, the volume presents Kants writings on freedom and their reception by contemporaries, successors, followers and critics. From exchanges of philosophical ideas on freedom between Kant and his contemporaries, Reinhold and Fichte, through to Kants ideas on rational self-determination in Hegel and Schelling, we see Kants original arguments transformed through concepts of autonomy, freedom and absolutes. The political aspect of Kants freedom finds further articulation in chapters on Marx and Mill who developed their own notions of political freedom after Kant. Revealing how Kants concept of freedom shaped the history of philosophy in the broadest sense, contributors chart the development of an ethics of freedom in the 20th century which brings Kant into conversation with Heidegger, Beauvoir, Sartre, Levinas and Murdoch. This line of thinking on freedom signals a new departure for Kantian studies which brings his ideas into the present day and traverses major schools of thought including Idealism, Marxism, existentialism and moral philosophy.

Reviews

The essays in this collection trace the emergence and expression of Kants own conception of freedom, its criticism and appropriation by his contemporaries, and its lasting influence on European philosophy. They are of uniformly high quality, and make important contributions to our understanding of this essential idea. * Timothy L. Brownlee, Professor of Philosophy, Xavier University, USA *
This outstanding collection of essays examines the rich legacy of Kants conception of freedom in an impressive range of thinkers, from the German Idealists to Sartre, de Beauvoir and Murdoch. It is a very welcome contribution to the important ongoing debate about freedom, normativity and our relations to others. * Stephen Houlgate, Professor of Philosophy, University of Warwick, UK *
This collection of exceptional essays on responses to Kant in his immediate successors, in German idealism, and in utilitarianism, pragmatism, and existentialism, focused on the issues of freedom, normativity, and their relations, is a major step in the neglected study of the influence of Kant's moral philosophy between his time and our own. * Paul Guyer, Jonathan Nelson Professor of Humanities and Philosophy, Brown University, USA *
This important volume brings together essays from expert and emerging scholars around an enduring philosophical question: how should we understand freedom in the wake of Kants groundbreaking contributions to the topic Taking up questions surrounding the relation between freedom and normativity from Kant and post-Kantian philosophy to existentialism and beyond, this collection is a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in thinking through the problem of freedom in a post-Enlightenment world. * Karen Ng, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University, USA *
This is a timely book offering new perspectives on freedom after Kant. The book is particularly remarkable for its range (from Kant and the post-Kantians to existentialist thinkers) and for the diversity of its contributors (authorities in their field but also younger scholars). I learned a lot from reading it. * Batrice Han-Pile, Professor of Philosophy, University of Essex, UK *

Author Bio

Joe Saunders is Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Durham University, UK. He is the author of numerous articles on Kant and two co-edited books, Media Ethics, Free Speech, and the Requirements of Democracy (2019) and Wellbeing Economics: The Capabilities Approach to Prosperity (2018).