Scan barcode
oldswampy's review against another edition
3.0
A serviceable and brief introduction to Kant that varies between humor and serious evaluation of his life and works. It's perhaps more of an essay than a book, really, but if you want to say you've read a book about Kant this is an easy one that will allow you to do that. Given the opacity of Kant's own writing, having an easy approach to his work is a good thing, and the brief selections of his own prose that are included (translated into English) do begin to give an idea of the density of his writing style. Perhaps too much attention is paid to attempts to psychoanalyze Kant posthumously and use his quirks and paranoia as routes to understanding his writing, but this might make the book more memorable to some readers. In a few spots, Strathern's references will probably be obscure to the sort of philosophical novices who would benefit most from this book.
joshknape's review against another edition
3.0
What many reviewers say about this book is true: it offers limited details about Kant's philosophy. But there are clearly reasons for that. Author Paul Strathern's ability to discuss the philosophies in detail is severely restricted by the extremely short length of the books, and this becomes more of a problem when he discusses philosophies written in philosophical jargon by intellectuals who didn't write concisely and comprehensibly (and didn't care). Kant and several other major German philosophers, such as Hegel (who also receives a volume in the 90 Minutes series) wrote this way, and how is Strathern supposed to explain poorly written manuals of complex philosophies in ninety minutes? He makes clear that even other philosophers found Kant's writing incomprehensible. He gives one passage from Kant's Critique of Pure Reason by way of illustration, and it verges on being parody of bad writing:
And Critique of Pure Reason is widely considered Kant's masterwork. Kant's unfinished final work in philosophy (Transition from the Metaphysical Foundations of the Natural Sciences to Physics) is apparently even more incomprehensible, so incomprehensible in fact that, according to Strathern, no other philosophers have ever understood it. In more practical scientific and business fields, this problem is why the professionals have technical writers; unfortunately, philosophers don't have tech writers and probably don't want them. However, Strathern adequately explains key points of Kant's philosophy, such as the categorical imperative everyone hears about.
Strathern mentions something which my Philosophy 101 prof didn't see fit to mention about Kant's personal life--the only thing of interest, as Kant really had no life whatsoever. Throughout his adult life, Kant was absolutely repressed emotionally and sexually. It's not clear how this influenced his philosophy (if at all), but there are subtle hints of his repressed emotions behind the philosophies that interested him, such as the Romanticism of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Also the fact that he mocked emotional writing like poetic-sounding prose (one of his early works is a satire of it) and advised his students not to read novels (claiming they "fragmented the memory") or listen to music. But Strathern bluntly says "beneath the facade of the prim academic beat the heart of a closet romantic" ; and when I read two other details--that Kant loved attending concerts and, most importantly, that he regularly worshiped in the local church despite his philosophical system denying the existence of God (on the grounds that it's unverifiable)--I made my own conclusion that Strathern doesn't suggest: that Kant was in many ways a blatant hypocrite.
The apodictical proposition cogitates the assertorical as determined by these very laws of the understanding, consequently affirming as a priori, and in this manner it expresses...
And Critique of Pure Reason is widely considered Kant's masterwork. Kant's unfinished final work in philosophy (Transition from the Metaphysical Foundations of the Natural Sciences to Physics) is apparently even more incomprehensible, so incomprehensible in fact that, according to Strathern, no other philosophers have ever understood it. In more practical scientific and business fields, this problem is why the professionals have technical writers; unfortunately, philosophers don't have tech writers and probably don't want them. However, Strathern adequately explains key points of Kant's philosophy, such as the categorical imperative everyone hears about.
Strathern mentions something which my Philosophy 101 prof didn't see fit to mention about Kant's personal life--the only thing of interest, as Kant really had no life whatsoever. Throughout his adult life, Kant was absolutely repressed emotionally and sexually. It's not clear how this influenced his philosophy (if at all), but there are subtle hints of his repressed emotions behind the philosophies that interested him, such as the Romanticism of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Also the fact that he mocked emotional writing like poetic-sounding prose (one of his early works is a satire of it) and advised his students not to read novels (claiming they "fragmented the memory") or listen to music. But Strathern bluntly says "beneath the facade of the prim academic beat the heart of a closet romantic" ; and when I read two other details--that Kant loved attending concerts and, most importantly, that he regularly worshiped in the local church despite his philosophical system denying the existence of God (on the grounds that it's unverifiable)--I made my own conclusion that Strathern doesn't suggest: that Kant was in many ways a blatant hypocrite.
dayoldtea's review against another edition
2.0
Had to read for background for class. I found the discussion of Kant's actual philosophy lacking. Overall, a disappointment, but at least it was short and contained interesting biographical information.
wesleyboy's review against another edition
3.0
A nice overview of Kant. I’ll have to check out the other books in this series.
pizzamcpin3ppl3's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
oldswampy's review against another edition
3.0
A serviceable and brief introduction to Kant that varies between humor and serious evaluation of his life and works. It's perhaps more of an essay than a book, really, but if you want to say you've read a book about Kant this is an easy one that will allow you to do that. Given the opacity of Kant's own writing, having an easy approach to his work is a good thing, and the brief selections of his own prose that are included (translated into English) do begin to give an idea of the density of his writing style. Perhaps too much attention is paid to attempts to psychoanalyze Kant posthumously and use his quirks and paranoia as routes to understanding his writing, but this might make the book more memorable to some readers. In a few spots, Strathern's references will probably be obscure to the sort of philosophical novices who would benefit most from this book.
hammarbag's review against another edition
3.0
It’s been 90 minutes, Kant invented the categorical imperative
cbaszler's review against another edition
2.0
I knew nothing about Kant, so I thought this was good. But then I read some reviews saying that this book misses some big parts of Kant's theories...so maybe it's not good. Since I didn't know anything about Kant before (hence, I read the 90-min book), I can't comment on the book's accuracy.
robk's review against another edition
2.0
Sometimes I have little fits of insomnia. Take last night for instance. It's getting to be around two in the morning and I Kant can't sleep. I think to myself, maybe if I listen to a biography of a boring person I will fall asleep. Unfortunately, Kant in 90 Minutes was not the somniferous lullaby I so dearly desired. That's not to suggest it is action-packed, keep you on the edge of your seat, excitement, either. No, Kant in 90 Minutes is a hasty summation of the less interesting aspects of the great philosopher.
I thought I could listen to this book and fall asleep, or at least brush up on some of my old philosophy classes while being otherwise unproductive. Turns out, I just got about 40 minutes of some dude with a British accent telling me that Kant lead an excruciatingly boring daily life, and that he was obsessed with his mother (you know, in an Oedipal kind of way). What little that was said about Kant's philosophy hardly did justice to his ideas.
I wouldn't recommend this book. I have listened to some other books in the 90 Minute series that were a little better than this.
PS: I finally did fall asleep around four. Ugh.
I thought I could listen to this book and fall asleep, or at least brush up on some of my old philosophy classes while being otherwise unproductive. Turns out, I just got about 40 minutes of some dude with a British accent telling me that Kant lead an excruciatingly boring daily life, and that he was obsessed with his mother (you know, in an Oedipal kind of way). What little that was said about Kant's philosophy hardly did justice to his ideas.
I wouldn't recommend this book. I have listened to some other books in the 90 Minute series that were a little better than this.
PS: I finally did fall asleep around four. Ugh.