The Philosophy of Immanuel Kant

What it is

This is The Philosophy of Immanuel Kant by A. D. Lindsay, a fellow and tutor of Balliol College, Oxford. The book is a brief guide to some of the main ideas Kant set out in the three Critiques. The entry includes a LibriVox audio recording. It is a volunteer reading of the text, made in English by A. Bryan Johnson and SKwanlada. It is not a recording of Kant's voice, because Kant lived long before recording existed.

Why it matters

Lindsay's book is a modern introduction written for students. It shows how English-speaking philosophers in the early 1900s explained Kant. Lindsay's preface cites Schopenhauer's warning that no one should tell you what Kant's Critique of Pure Reason contains. Lindsay himself says that the best way to understand Kant is to read Kant's own writings.

Look closer

• The reader is a volunteer, not the author or Kant. How might the sound of a reading change how you understand the text?
• Lindsay says he only offers suggestions to help readers. What does he leave out on purpose?
• Why might a student want to read Kant's own Critiques after reading a summary like this one?