Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Kant and the Critique of Pure Reason (Routledge Philosophy Guidebooks)

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Summary: Clear, well-organized, summary and exposition of Kant.
Review: Hilary Putnam is reported to have said that "any philosophy that can be put in a nutshell belongs in one." This wonderful book does not set out to put Kant's Critical philosophy in a nutshell -- this cannot be done -- nor will it give you the "bottom-line" so as to spare you the hard work of reading, studying and thinking about Kant's ideas. It is only the best, most thorough and clearest exposition of the profoundly complex and rich argument of the first Critique. It is also a "placing" of this work within the tradition of reflection which it has initiated, thereby (and forever!) altering the intellectual project of the West.

Kant's work is the greatest intellectual achievement of Western philosophical reflection and deserves this sort of effort and attention. Anyone unfamiliar with the ideas contained in this masterpiece and with the historical effect of those ideas simply can not be considered "educated" in the full meaning of the word.

Is Kant more than a materialist or an idealist? Does he resolve the conflict between rationalists and empiricists? If so, how? What was the "Copernican turn" that Kant is responsible for in Western thought? How did he force us to take the turn? Is it true that are we still thinking in his conceptual vocabulary? Is it accurate to speak of every thinker after Kant as, to some degree, operating within Kantian premises, often without realising it? How have thinkers like Hegel and Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Husserl, even Freud, Jung, Einstein (despite their differences from one another) all been influenced by Kant?

Clear answers to all of these questions can be found in this book? Get it, read it, study Kant.

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Summary: Summary almost as difficult as the Crit. Pure Reason itself!
Review: The Critique of Pure Reason is one of the most difficult to read books of all times. Not only was it originally written in German, but two versions were written that contradict each other. Kant's own colleagues had tremendous difficulty with his ambiguity. Unless you have a year or two of spare time, reading the actual book is not an option. The Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Kant ... is a very good attempt at eliminating the confusion but does not simplify it enough to be easily readible. I have read almost all the works from the presocratics to Hume and found this guidebook very frustrating. Who knows- maybe it's not the fault of Gardner. The very nature of the concepts introduced are very abstract and vague. This is the most profound book I have ever read- much more profound than Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance which is one of my favorites. Gardner gives you many viewpoints on what the established "elite" think of his viewpoints which are at the same time illuminating and confusing. I know that there are summaries on Kant as a whole but finding a full guidebook to just his CPR is not too common.

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Summary: Best Book for Strugglers of Kantian Philosophy....
Review: This book presents a very clear and concise outline of Kant's points and arguments in the Critique of Pure Reason. If you are a beginner, then I would highly recommend you to buy it ASAP. If on the other hand you are not a beginner, I would still recommend you this book because this book makes the reading more clear than ever. So see it yourself by buying it.... I bet you wont regret...