Unnecessary Evil: History and Moral Progress in the Philosophy of Immanuel Kant, Sharon Ander son-Gold. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 2001, xiii +138 pp., $49.50, pb. $17.95. Knowledge and Reference in Empirical Science, Jody Azzouni. International Library of Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, xi + 259 pp., $50.00. Philosophy of Science: Contemporary Readings, Yuri Balashov and Alex Rosenberg. Routledge Contemporary Readings in Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xiii + 522 pp. Of Myth, Life, and War in (...) Plato's Republic, Claudia Baracchi. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2002, ix + 249 pp., $49.95, pb. $24.95. Ethics in Context: The Art of Dealing with Serious Questions, Gernot Böhme. Trans. Edmund Jephcott. Cambridge: Polity, 2001, ix + 189 pp., £45.00, pb. £13.99. The Philosophical Theory of the State and Related Essays, Bernard Bosenquet. Ed. with intro. Gerald F. Gaus and William Sweet Key Texts. Classic Studies in the History of Ideas. South Bend, IN: St Augustine's Press, 2001, xxxvii +388 pp., pb. no price given. Belief and its Neutralization: Husserl's System of Phenomenology in Ideas I, Marcus Brainard. SUNY Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy. Albany, NY: State University of New York, 2002, xvii + 331 pp., $86.50, pb. $29.95. The Nature of Research: Inquiry in Academic Contexts, Angela Brew. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, v + 205 pp., pb. £18.99. Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide, Tracy Bowell and Gary Kemp. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, x + 275 pp., No price given. Fodor: Language, Mind and Philosophy, M. J. Cain. Key Contemporary Thinkers. Oxford: Polity, 2002, ix + 240 pp., £50.00, pb. £14.00. The Religious, John D. Caputo. Blackwell Readings in Continental Philosophy. Oxford/maiden, MA: Blackwell, 2002, xiii + 322 pp., £55.00, pb. £16.99. 101 Philosophy Problems, Martin Cohen. 2nd ed. London/new York: Routledge, xviii + 229 pp., pb. £8.99. Hilary Putnam: Pragmatism and Realism, James Conant and Urszula M. Zeglen. Routledge Studies in Twentieth Century Philosophy. London/new York: 2002, xii + 242 pp., £50.00. Essay on the Origin of Human Knowledge, Etienne Bonnot de Condillac. Ed. and trans. Hans Aarsleff. Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, xlv + 225 pp., $59.95, pb. $21.95. Theories of Democracy: A Critical Introduction, Frank Cunningham. Routledge Contemporary Political Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, vi + 248 pp., pb. £13.99. Self-Identity and Personal Autonomy: An Analytical Anthropology, Stefaan E. Cuypers. Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy. Aldershot/burlington USA/singapore/ Sydney: Ashgate, 2001, ix + 172 pp., £37.50. Stream of Consciousness: Unity and Continuity in Conscious Experience, Barry Dainton. International Library of Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2000, xvi + 254 pp. Kierkegaard After MacIntyre: Essays on Freedom, Narrative, and Virtue, John J. Davenport and Anthony Rudd. Replies by Alasdair Maclntyre and Philip L. Quinn. Chicago/la Salle, IL: Open Court, 2001, xxxix + 363 pp., £47.95, pb. £22.50. What Distinguishes Human Understanding? John Deely. South Bend, IN: St Augustine's Press, 2002, xiv + 178 pp., £17.50. Acts of Religion, Jacques Derrida. Ed. with intro. by Gil Anidjar. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, vi + 436 pp., pb. £15.99. Religion and Media, Hent de Vries and Samuel Weber. Cultural Memory in the Present. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001, xvii + 649 pp., $69.00, pb. $29.95. Art and Value, George Dickie. Oxford: Blackwell, 2001, vi + 114 pp., £45.00, pb. £11.99. Modern Philosophy from Descartes to Nietische: An Anthology, Steven M. Emmanuel and Patrick Goold. Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies. Maiden, MA/oxford: Routledge, 2002, xvii + 525 pp. The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell, Robert Enger and Lester Denonn, with new intro. by John Slater. London/new York: Routledge, 1992, reissue: 2001, 736 pp., pb. $26.95. Democracy, David Estlund. Blackwell Readings in Philosophy. Maiden, MA/oxford: Blackwell, 2001, xii + 310 pp., £55.00, pb. £15.99. Philosophy Goes to the Movies: An Introduction to Philosophy, Christopher Falzon. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, ix + 230 pp., pb. £11.99. Arresting Language: From Leibniz to Benjamin, Peter Fenves. Meridian: Crossing Aesthetics. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001, xiii + 379 pp., $55.00, pb. $24.95. Richard Rorty: Critical Dialogues, Matthew Festenstein and Simon Thompson. Cambridge: Polity, 2001, ix + 241 pp., £50.00, pb. £14.99. Berkeley and the Principles of Human Knowledge, Robert J. Fogelin. Routledge Philosophy Guidebooks. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, x + 166 pp., pb. £8.99. Intellectual Trust in Oneself and Others, Richard Foley. Cambridge Studies in Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, x + 182 pp., $55.00. Thomas Kuhn: A Philosophical History for Our Times, Steve Fuller. Chicago/london: University of Chicago Press, 2000, pb. 2001, xvii + 472 pp., pb. $22.50, 314.50. A Common Humanity: Thinking about Love and Truth and Justice, Raimond Gaita. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xiii + 293 pp., pb. Stochastic Causality, Maria Carla Galavotti, Patrick Suppe s and Domenieo Costantini. CSLI Publications. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, xii + 275 pp., $65.00, pb. $25.00; £41.00, pb. £16.00. Introduction to Logic, Harry J. Gensler. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, ix + 399 pp., pb. £15.99. Walter Benjamin: Critical Constellations, Graeme Gilloch. Key Contemporary Thinkers. Oxford: Polity, 2002, xi + 304 pp., £50.00, pb. £14.99. Between Ethics and Aesthetics: Crossing the Boundaries, Dorota Glowacka and Stephen Boos. Albany, NY: State University of New York, 2002, v + 310 pp., $81.50, pb. $27.95. Practical Rules: When We Need Them and When We Don't, Alan H. Goldman. Cambridge Studies in Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, xi + 210 pp., $54.95. Manners and Violence, Ignacio L. Götz. Westport, CN/london: Praeger, 2000, xiii +131 pp., £44.50. Dummett: Philosophy of Language, Karen Green. Key Contemporary Thinkers. Cambridge: Polity, 2001, xi + 236 pp., £55.00, pb. £14.99. Wittgenstein: Connections and Controversies, P. M. S. Hacker. Oxford: Clarendon Press,2001. xxiv + 375 pp., £35.00. India: A Financial Sector for the Twenty-first Century, James A. Hanson and Sanjay Kathuria. Oxford India Paperbacks. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, xv + 446 pp., pb. £13.99. Socialism, Michael W. Howard. Key Concepts in Critical Theory. New York: Humanity Books, 2001, 408 pp., pb. $29.00. Ontology and the Art of Tragedy: An Approach to Aristotle's Poetics, Martha Husain. SUNY Series in Ancient Greek Philosophy. Albany, NY: State University of New York,2002. ix + 152 pp., pb. $16.95. Why Good is Good: The Sources of Morality, Robert A. Hinde. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xiv + 241 pp., pb. £15.99. Logical Investigations, Edmund Husserl. Two vols. trans. J. N. Findlay, revised Dermot Moran with new preface by Dermot Moran and new introduction by Michael Dummett. International Library of Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, vol. 1, Ixxxvii + 331 pp., pb. $29.95; vol. 2, xiv + 364 pp., pb. $29.95. The Shorter Logical Investigations, Edmund Husserl. Abridged ed. and trans. J. N. Findlay, abridged and revised by Dermot Moran with new preface by Dermot Moran and new introduction by Michael Dummett. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, Ixxxv + 422 pp., pb. $27.95. The Political, David Ingram. Blackwell Readings in Philosophy. Maiden, MA/ Oxford: Blackwell, 2001, xii + 310 pp., £60.00, pb. £15.99. Hegel, M. J. In wood. Arguments of the Philosophers. 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Justifying Emotions: Pride and Jealousy, Kristján Kristjansson. Routledge Studies in Ethics and Moral Theory. London/new York: Routledge, 2001, xii + 257 pp., £50.00. Understanding Philosophy of Science, James Ladyman. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xiii + 290 pp., pb. £12.99. Infinite Minds: A Philosophical Cosmology, John Leslie. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2001, xi + 234 pp., £25.00. Appositions of Jacques Derrida and Emmanuel Levinas, John Llewelyn. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2002, xx + 255 pp., $49.95, pb. $24.95. Logic, Form, and Grammar. Peter Long. International Library of Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2000, x + 109 pp. Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction, Michael J. Loux. Routledge Contemporary Introductions to Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xiii + 303 pp., pb. £13.99. Metaphysics: Contemporary Readings, Michael J. Loux. Routledge Contemporary Readings in Philosophy. London/new York: Routledge, 2002, xii + 555 pp., pb. £16.99. 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In 1764, Kant published his Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and the Sublime and in 1790 his influential third Critique , the Critique of the Power of Judgment . The latter contains two parts, the 'Critique of the Aesthetic Power of Judgment' and the 'Critique of the Teleological Power of Judgment'. They reveal a new principle, namely the a priori principle of purposiveness ( Zweckmäßigkeit ) of our power of judgment, and thereby offer new a priori grounds for (...) beauty and biology within the framework of Kant's transcendental philosophy. They also unite the previous two Critiques , the Critique of Pure Reason and the Critique of Practical Reason . Besides contributing to general and systematic aspects within his transcendental philosophy, Kant's aesthetics also offers new insights into old problems. It deals with feeling versus experience, subjectivity versus objectivity, disinterested pleasure, aesthetic universality, free and adherent beauty, the sensus communis , genius, aesthetic ideas, beauty as the symbol of morality, beauty of nature versus beauty of art, the sublime, and the supersensible. In this article I will limit myself to this critical aesthetics of Kant. But I will also discuss the ugly and the possibility of beauty in mathematics and see whether Kant's theory can successfully explain or deal with them. I will also compare his theory with philosophical ideas from a very different tradition, namely from Confucius, not only as a challenge to Kant's theory, but also because there is a growing interest from the Chinese side in combining ideas from Confucius and Kant, an interest that might well become influential in both East and West during the 21st century. (shrink)

In 1764, Kant published his Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and the Sublime and in 1790 his influential third Critique, the Critique of the Power of Judgment. The latter contains two parts, the ‘Critique of the Aesthetic Power of Judgment’ and the ‘Critique of the Teleological Power of Judgment’. They reveal a new principle, namely the a priori principle of purposiveness (Zweckmäßigkeit) of our power of judgment, and thereby offer new a priori grounds for beauty and biology within (...) the framework of Kant's transcendental philosophy. They also unite the previous two Critiques, the Critique of Pure Reason and the Critique of Practical Reason. Besides contributing to general and systematic aspects within his transcendental philosophy, Kant's aesthetics also offers new insights into old problems. It deals with feeling versus experience, subjectivity versus objectivity, disinterested pleasure, aesthetic universality, free and adherent beauty, the sensus communis, genius, aesthetic ideas, beauty as the symbol of morality, beauty of nature versus beauty of art, the sublime, and the supersensible. In this article I will limit myself to this critical aesthetics of Kant. But I will also discuss the ugly and the possibility of beauty in mathematics and see whether Kant's theory can successfully explain or deal with them. I will also compare his theory with philosophical ideas from a very different tradition, namely from Confucius, not only as a challenge to Kant's theory, but also because there is a growing interest from the Chinese side in combining ideas from Confucius and Kant, an interest that might well become influential in both East and West during the 21st century. (shrink)

According to Kant’s Critique of the Power of Judgement, in the end all estimation of magnitude is sensible, or ‘aesthetic’, and the absolutely great in aesthetic estimation is called ‘the mathematical sublime’. This article identifies the relevant sensible element with an inner sensation of a temporal tension: in aesthetic comprehension, the imagination encounters an inevitable tension between the successive reproduction of a magnitude’s individual parts and the simultaneous unification of these parts. The sensation of this tension varies in degree and (...) facilitates aesthetic estimation in general. But in the special case where it comes to involve a sense of exceeding our imagination’s limit, we judge a magnitude to be mathematically sublime. Pace Kant, I argue that this limit is private and contingent rather than transcendental, such that the judgement of the mathematical sublime is neither universal a priori nor necessary. (shrink)

This essay develops an account of the link between Kant's aesthetics and his ethics. It does so by articulating a Kantian account of moral psychology by way of aesthetic reflective judgements of sublimity. Since judgements of sublimity enrich the picture of a Kantian subject by forcefully revealing the unbounded power of the faculty of reason, I investigate the possibility that judgements of this kind could serve as a basis for moral motivation. The paper first shows how judgements of sublimity help (...) a subject recognize reason's unbounded nature, and proceeds to analyse the practical effects of a subject judging itself sublime. When judgements of sublimity have as their object the unbounded and unsythesizable power of reason, they may thereby serve as the basis for both the recognition of our moral vocation, and the grounds for determining the will to act from respect for it. Since a judgement of sublimity produces for Kant the experience of an enlivening emotion and an outflowing of vital forces, the paper then develops Kant's concept of “life” motivated by a recognition of its practical orientation. In this way sublimity rather than beauty can be interpreted as symbolic hypotyposis of morality. The paper then takes up less favourable interpretations of the practical effects of self-predicated judgements of sublimity, and constructs critical responses to such positions. I conclude, following Adorno, by stressing the historical and social dimension of the capacities for both making sublime judgements, and being morally enlivened by them. (shrink)