What You Need to Read Before You Read Kant

22nd April 2024 is the 300th birthday of Immanuel Kant.

- Anja Steinbauer

When asked by students to recommend a good introductory book to philosophy, my old philosophy professor used to growl “Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason”. At first glance this seems absurd: Kant’s texts, in particular his late work, are notoriously difficult to read and put the fear of philosophy in many who try. Even Kant’s friend Moses Mendelson, one of the greatest thinkers of the 18th Century, declared that the Critique of Pure Reason was “wearing away the nervous juices.” Yet, I think my old professor had a point. Once you have found a way into reading Kant, his texts can teach you how to philosophise well. They are satisfyingly complex, systematic and critical, they stimulate you to wrestle and disagree with them. So, how to get started? It helps to know a little about his background, his interests and way of thinking as well as the concepts that he uses.