Critique of Critical Philosophy: A Commentary on Kant

Author: Li Zehou
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-10-01
Features: Critique of Critical Philosophy was written during the "Cultural Revolution" and first published in spring 1979. A reader remarked that it was through this book they first understood what philosophy is. Two renowned American-Chinese scholars agreed without hesitation that it is the best Chinese work on Kantian philosophy. The book breaks away from conventional argumentative modes, discusses the pivotal significance of Kant's transcendentalism in the history of philosophy, and explores the main philosophical issues in the three major fields of epistemology (truth), ethics (goodness), and aesthetics and teleology (beauty). The author creatively applies the perspective of practice to analyze each issue in detail, thereby articulating their own philosophical views. It emphasizes that the use and creation of tools are the foundation of human society, responding to Kant's famous question, "How is humanity possible?" This edition includes revisions by the author. It is one of the author's most influential works.
Chapter 1: Sources and Development of Kantian Thought
1. "Kantian philosophy is the German theory of the French Revolution." If the style of Critique of Pure Reason resembles Kant's monotonous life, its content reflects the entire era.
2. Kant's political stance: Advocating a republican regime, demanding "freedom of the pen," and opposing violent revolution.
3. Kant's relationship with pre-Kantian philosophy. Newton (science) and Rousseau (democracy) were the two most influential figures on Kant.
4. Kant in the 1750s. His works on natural science exhibit the traits of a philosopher; he emphasized methodology, holistic perspectives, and theoretical generalizations. Works such as General Natural History and Theory of the Heavens.
5. Kant in the 1760s. Troubled by issues of science and religion, metaphysics, and inclined toward empiricism. Works such as On the Sensible and Intuitive Forms of the Outer Sensations.
6. The "Antinomies" awakened Kant from the "dream of dogmatism." From his appointment to the three Critiques.
7. The dual nature of German bourgeois cultural giants. Kant and Goethe.
Chapter 2: Epistemology: (I) The Problem Posed
Chapter 3: Epistemology: (II) Space and Time
Chapter 4: Epistemology: (III) Categories
Chapter 5: Epistemology: (IV) "Self-Consciousness"
Chapter 6: Epistemology: (V) "Antinomies"
Chapter 7: Epistemology: (VI) "Things-in-Themselves"
Chapter 8: Ethics: (I) The Moral Law
Chapter 9: Ethics: (II) Religion, Politics, and Historical Perspectives
Chapter 10: Aesthetics and Teleology