Product Description

The Introducing series is renowned throughout the world for its ingenious combination of graphic illustration and intelligent, precise text by leading academics on some of the most challenging subjects around. This is an examination of one of the most famous philosophers of the Enlightenment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #357545 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

New Scientist
"Excellent clarity."

New Statesman and Society
"A splendid job."

About the Author
Christopher Want is an Art Historian and Philosopher. He teaches Art Criticism and Theory at Kent Institute of Art and Design, and Critical Theory at Goldsmith's College. He has published widely on Romantic and Postmodern art and philosophy.

Andrzej Klimowski is an award-winning desiner and illustrator, the author of the acclaimed graphic novel The Depository, and a lecturer at the Royal College of Art. He has also illustrated introductory guides to Picasso and Walter Benjamin in this series.

Customer Reviews

Lacklustre
Kant is one of the 'biggies' of modern philosophy.
Unfortunately this book doesn't really deal with his ideas in a particularly inpired way. It rather skims the subject matter and doesn't really provide enough detail on some important background information - such as Kant's critical response to Hume.
If you only read this book you'll come away thinking that Kant is rather straightforward and nothing could be further from the truth!
Although you may not agree with Roger Scruton's politics his 'Very Short Introduction to Kant' is a much better book than this.

Not good for beginners.
This volume suffers from the same problem that some of the others in the Introducing series (although not all by any means, which shows it can be done). It is trying to deal with a complex subject for a beginners audience.For those who already have an aquaintence with Kant and want a brief overview (perhaps to be able to see the wood for the trees), this book is at best moderately useful. However for beginners with little or no knowledge, this book fails. It uses technical terms freely with no adequate explanation as to what they mean (those inside philosophy often forget that such terms as transendental or sublime have at best a very vague meaning to the uninitiated). This makes reading parts of it like wading through treacle. I also felt that the illustrations were uninspired and did little to aid understanding (again unlike some others in the series).Overall, it lacks enough depth for those prepared to struggle with the terminology but is too heavy going for real beginners. The series as a whole is a mixed bag, some are excellent, with text and illustrations working well together, others, like this one don't really know what they are, beginners guide or overview for those already in the know.

How to put people off Kant?
This is a deeply disappointing book that manages in my view to be both superficial and obtuse at the same time. It tries to cram too much in and as a result the authors do not do justice to their subject. As an introductory text it is likely to put people off. This is unfortunate because Kant's philosophy remains extremely important and relevant to our current time. Try Roger Scruton's book instead, it flows and explains its subject matter much better than this.