Kant's "Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Aim": A Critical Guide | National Humanities Center

Work of the Fellows: Edited Volumes

Kant’s “Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Aim”: A Critical Guide

Edited by Amélie Oksenberg Rorty (NHC Fellow, 2007–08) and James Schmidt

Cosmopolitanism; Social Theory; Intellectual History; Idee zu einer allgemeinen Geschichte in weltbürgerlicher Absicht; Immanuel Kant

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009

From the publisher’s description:

In recent years there has been a major revival of interest in the political philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Thinkers have looked to Kant's theories about knowledge, history, the moral self and autonomy, and nature and aesthetics to seek the foundations of their own political philosophy. This volume, written by established authorities on Kant as well as by new scholars in the field, illuminates the ways in which contemporary thinkers differ regarding Kantian philosophy and Kant's legacy to political and ethical theory.

The book contains essays by Patrick Riley, Lewis White Beck, Mary Gregor, and Richard L. Velkley that place Kant in the tradition of political philosophy; chapters by Dieter Henrich, Susan Shell, Michael W. Doyle, and Joseph M. Knippenberg that examine Kantian perspectives on history and politics; contributions by William A. Galston, Bernard Yack, William James Booth, and Ronald Beiner that judge the Kantian legacy; and classic discussions by John Rawls, Jürgen Habermas, Charles Taylor, and Hans-Georg Gadamer that present different perspectives on contemporary debates about Kant.

Ronald Beiner is professor of political science at the University of Toronto. William James Booth is associate professor of political science at McGill University.

Subjects
History / Philosophy / Political Science / Cosmopolitanism / Social Theory / Intellectual History / Idee zu einer allgemeinen Geschichte in weltbürgerlicher Absicht / Immanuel Kant /

Rorty, Amélie Oksenberg (NHC Fellow, 2007–08), ed. Kant's "Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Aim": A Critical Guide. Edited by Amélie Oksenberg Rorty and James Schmidt. Cambridge Critical Guides. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.