Kant's Transcendental Arguments: Disciplining Pure Reason

(Hardback)

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Two currents of thought dominated Western philosophy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: Continental Rationalism and British Empiricism. Despite the gradual dissemination of British ideas on the Continent in the first decades of the eighteenth century, these fundamentally disparate philosophical outlooks seemed to be wholly irreconcilable. However, the publication of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason in 1781 presented an entirely new method of philosophical reasoning that promised to combine the virtues of Rationalism with the scientific rigour of Empiricism.
This book offers the first extended analysis of Kant's method of proof in philosophy. The author constructs a model based on Kant's own statements about his procedure and then examines his famous proofs in light of it. Great emphasis is placed on historical accuracy and the debunking of popular myths about Kant's aims and doctrines. The result is a compelling new picture of Kant that will challenge current assumptions.

Reviews

'This meticulous scholarly study of Kant's critical reception of empiricism, idealism and scepticism sheds fresh light on two central issues of recent Anglo-American and German Kant scholarship ... This is essential reading for anyone interested in any aspect of transcendental arguments.' Murray Miles, Professor of Philosophy, Brock University, Canada
Among the many books published on Kant, this one stands out. With a little over 150 pages the book is relatively short and it is written in a snappy style, which makes it a pleasure to read... I heartily recommend this well-researched monograph to specialists working on the Refutation and connected issues.' -- Kant Studies Online

Author Bio

Scott Stapleford is Professor of Philosophy at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, Canada. He is the author of Kants Transcendental Arguments: Disciplining Pure Reason (2008), coauthor of Berkeleys Principles: Expanded and Explained (2016) and Humes Enquiry: Expanded and Explained (2021), coeditor of Epistemic Dilemmas: New Arguments, New Angles (2021), coeditor of Epistemic Duties: New Arguments, New Angles (2020), and series editor (with Kevin McCain) of Routledge Studies in Epistemology.