Kant's Critique of the Power of Judgment

Critical Essays

Kant's Critique of the Power of Judgment, first published in 1790, was the last of the great philosopher's three critiques, following on the heels of Critique of Pure Reason (1781) and Critique of Practical Reason (1788). In the first two, Kant dealt with metaphysics and morality; in the third, Kant turns to the aesthetic dimension of human experience, showing how our experiences of natural and artistic beauty, the sublime magnitude and might of nature, and of purposive organisms and ecological systems gives us palpable evidece that it is possible for us not only to form moral intentions, but also to realize our freely chosen moral goals within nature as we experience it. The present volume collects twelve of the most important critical discussions on the Critique of the Power of Judgment written by leading Kant scholars and aestheticians from the United States and Great Britain. In addition to a substantive introduction by the editor, the book includes an extensive, annotated bibliography of the most important work on Kant and on the background and arguments of his third Critique published throughout the twentieth century.