7648594607

Andrzej J. Noras

Kant and Hegel in Philosophical Disputes of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

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The book is composed of two parts. The flrst is devoted to philosophy of Kant, while the second to philosophy of Hegel. Such a structure of the book is caused not only by the dominance of the above philosophical conceptions in the times they appeared but also their vitality and influence. Kant as well as Hegel — probably event to larger extent — provoked their contemporary philosophical milieus to philosophical disputes.

In the flrst part of the book there are analyses of Kantian thought, how-ever they do not point to function as another work devoted to Kant but they are thought to be a try of methodological analysis of the very thought of the Kónigsberg thinker. It me ans that we can talk about pure analysis of Kant’s thought without becoming embroiled into its interpretations. Only later, on further pages of the book, can one read about its interpretational motives. Accordingly, one of the crucial attainments of the flrst part is a demonstration that Kant was not a German idealist. It was interpretations of Kant that led to the situation in which instead of critical systematic philosophy we had a dog-matized system philosophy. This was the intention of those who ąuarreled not only about the understanding of Kant's thought but also about philosophy in generał. In this way, by the mediation of K.L. Reinhold and S. Maimon, there comes to formulation of philosophical manifesto of Fichte (his Wissenschafts-lehre). And finally, there appears philosophy of Schelling which was under-going versatile influences.

The point of departure for the second part of the book is philosophy of Hegel which is at the same time the crowning of German idealism. However, there appears a new thing. Philosophy of Kant was a subject for the post-Kan-tian philosophers. Each of them referred to and philosophized in the context of his thought. Philosophy of Hegel awakes and brings a wide spectrum of re-actions: from fascination to severe criticism. From the perspective of analyses