Alexander Baumgarten's Ethica Philosophica (1740) served as a chief textbook of philosophical instruction in German universities for several decades, and was used by Immanuel Kant for his lectures on moral philosophy between 1759 and 1794. Now translated into English for the first time, John Hymers explores the extent of Baumgarten's influence on the development of German philosophy. Accompanied by an introduction to Baumgarten and his work, this translation features an explanation of the main themes of the Ethica Philosophica, touching upon its relation to Christian Wolff and G.F. Meier's practical philosophy, but focusing especially on its role in Kant's lectures. First-time translations of elucidatory passages from the writings of Meier, Wolff, and Heinrich Köhler appear together with the relevant transcriptions of Kant's lectures on ethics. Based on a thorough knowledge of the original text, Hymers' clear translation and supporting material makes it possible to distinguish Kant's own remarks and insights from his attempts to expound and summarize Baumgarten's ideas. This is a much-needed contribution for anyone working in the history of modern philosophy.

This volume explores the metaphysics of Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714-1762) and its decisive influence on Immanuel Kant. For over a century, scholars have recognized the significance of Baumgarten's Metaphysics, both because of its impact on Kant's intellectual development, and because of the way it fundamentally informed the work of generations of German philosophers, including Moses Mendelssohn, Thomas Abbt, Johann Gottfried Herder, Solomon Maimon, Johann August Eberhard, and arguably even Georg Friedrich Hegel. However, Baumgarten's Metaphysics has only recently become available in reliable German and English translations, so that many scholars have been excluded from the discussion and the significance of Baumgarten's work has remained largely unexplored. Thus with the appearance of these translations, interest in Baumgarten's work has surged among both. This volume aims to provide an anchor for this emerging discussion by presenting specially written essays by some of the scholars most responsible for Baumgarten's current reputation, together with some of the best young scholars in this emerging field.

The German philosopher Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714–1762) introduced “aesthetics” as a new science in his Reflections on Poetry (1735) and developed this new part of philosophy in a series of later works, culminating in his unfinished Aesthetics (1750/1758). This volume is the first collection of essays in the English language devoted to Baumgarten’s aesthetics. The essays highlight the distinguishing features of Baumgarten’s aesthetics, situate it in its historical context, document its reception, and examine its contributions to contemporary philosophy.

Alexander Baumgarten (1714-1762), an influential German philosopher preceding Immanuel Kant, is remembered mainly as a founder of modern aesthetics. Yet his manual on metaphysics was one of the chief textbooks of philosophical instruction in latter 18th-Century Germany. Originally published in Latin, Kant used the Metaphysics for nearly four decades as the basis for lectures on metaphysics, anthropology and religion. Kant composed many of the preparatory sketches for the Critique of Pure Reason in the blank interleaved pages of his personal copy. Available for the first time in English, this critical translation draws from the original seven Latin editions and Georg Friedrich Meier’s 18th-century German translation. Together with a historical and philosophical introduction, extensive glossaries and notes, the text is supported by translations of Kant’s elucidations and notes, Eberhard’s insertions in the 1783 German edition and texts from the writings of Meier and Wolff. For scholars of Kant, the German Enlightenment and the history of metaphysics, Alexander Baumgarten’s Metaphysics is an essential, authoritative resource to a significant philosophical text.

This book presents the first English translation of Alexander Baumgarten's Initia Philosophiae Practicae Primae, the textbook Kant used in his lectures on moral philosophy. Originally published in Latin in 1760, the Initia contains a systematic, but original version of the universal practical philosophy first articulated by Christian Wolff. In his personal copy, Kant penned hundreds of pages of notes and sketches that document his relation to this earlier tradition. Translating these extensive elucidations into English, together with Kant's notes on the text, this translation offers a complete resource to Kant's reading of the Initia. To facilitate further study, first-time translations of elucidatory passages from G. F. Meier and Wolff are also included, alongside a German-English-Latin glossary. The translators' introduction provides a biography of Baumgarten, a discussion of the importance of the Initia, its relation to Wolff's and Meier's universal practical philosophy and its role in Kant's lectures. By shedding new light on the arguments of Kant's mature works and offering insights into his pre-Critical moral thought, Elements of First Practical Philosophy reveals why Baumgarten's work is essential for understanding the background to Kant's philosophy.

Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714–1762) is known in intellectual history for having established the discourse of philosophical aesthetics with his "Meditationes philosophicae de nonnullis ad poema pertinentibus" (Reflections on Poetry) and "Aesthetica" (Aesthetics), which consists of two books and is considered Baumgarten’s most important work. But this book amends that history. It shows that Baumgarten's aesthetics is a science of literature that demonstrates the value of literature to philosophy. Baumgarten did not intend to pursue such a task, but in working on his philosophical texts and lectures, he ends up analyzing, synthesizing, and contextualizing literature. He thereby treats it not as belles lettres or as a moral institution but rather as an epistemic object. His aesthetics is thus the first modern literary theory, and his articulation of this theory would never again be matched in its complexity and systematicity. Baumgarten’s theory of literature has never been discovered. It waits latently to take its place in intellectual history.

This book presents the first English translation of Alexander Baumgarten's Initia Philosophiae Practicae Primae, the textbook Kant used in his lectures on moral philosophy. Originally published in Latin in 1760, the Initia contains a systematic, but original version of the universal practical philosophy first articulated by Christian Wolff. In his personal copy, Kant penned hundreds of pages of notes and sketches that document his relation to this earlier tradition. Translating these extensive elucidations into English, together with Kant's notes on the text, this translation offers a complete resource to Kant's reading of the Initia. To facilitate further study, first-time translations of elucidatory passages from G. F. Meier and Wolff are also included, alongside a German-English-Latin glossary. The translators' introduction provides a biography of Baumgarten, a discussion of the importance of the Initia, its relation to Wolff's and Meier's universal practical philosophy and its role in Kant's lectures. By shedding new light on the arguments of Kant's mature works and offering insights into his pre-Critical moral thought, Elements of First Practical Philosophy reveals why Baumgarten's work is essential for understanding the background to Kant's philosophy.