Topics in Kant's Philosophy
Philosophy 502
Professor William Blattner
Department of Philosophy
Office: 240 New North
Phone: (202) 687-4528
Topics in Kant's PhilosophyPhilosophy 502 Professor William Blattner |
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Course Description:In his Critique of Pure Reason Kant announces a new position in the realism-idealism debate: "transcendental" or "critical" idealism. But understanding just what this position adds up to, and what is meant to motivate it, has perplexed Kant scholars ever since the Critique was first published in 1781. The course will begin with a week devoted to looking quickly at Berkeley's idealism. Kant was quite concerned, in response to criticisms of the first edition of the Critique to distinguish his views from Berkeley's. Then we will turn to Kant. We will look closely at those parts of the Critique that present and motivate transcendental idealism, as well as to some of the leading interpretations of transcendental idealism in the secondary literature. We will be especially concerned with the traditional phenomenalist reading, with the Prauss-Allison dual aspect reading, and with Guyer's "restriction" view. We will also consider some of the classic objections to transcendental idealism, such as the "neglected alternative" (that things in themselves might be just like the appearances) and the charge that the concept of the thing in itself cannot, in Kant's own terms, have any content. Some more detail: After Berkeley, we'll work through the Transcendental Aesthetic (chapter of the first Critique) with any eye to Kant's attempt to motivate idealism there. We'll then lay out and contrast the major interpretations of transcendental idealism (Allison, Guyer, phenomenalism). Then we'll look at other sections of the Critique and follow out the debate: the Phenomena and Noumena chapter, the Fourth Paralogism in A, the Refutation of Idealism, the Antinomies (which includes the discussion of human freedom). I think we'll be lucky if we can get through all that. I'll be setting up reserve articles on electronic reserve through Lauinger, so that you can download them as PDF files and print them out. Because the secondary literature will be so central, I will order some of the more important works (Allison's Kant's Transcendental Idealism and Guyer's Kant and the Claims of Knowledge), but we will be forced to rely on the reserve desk at Lauinger for a lot of material. Course Requirements:One research paper, 20 pp. or so, due according to standard departmental end-of-term practices. Course Prequisites:If you are a graduate student in the Philosophy Department: no special prerequisites are required. Obviously, if you have already studied the first Critique, that would be a hlep, but I won't formally require it. I will, on the other hand, not teach this seminar as an introduction to Kant. If you are not enrolled in our graduate program: you must get my permission to enroll in the course (contact information here). Texts:
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