The goal of the series Rethinking Kant is to bear witness to the richness and vitality of Kantian studies in North America. The collection is unique in its kind, for it garners papers from a whole generation of Kantian thought, ranging from doctoral students and recent Ph.Ds, to up-and-coming young scholars, to some well-established and influential players in the field. This combination is designed to take the pulse of current Kantian scholarship in the U.S. and rethink its fundamentals. This is the second volume in the series. It contains papers from three regional study groups of the North American Kant Society. Contributions tackle some of the most important and controversial themes in Kant’s philosophy: the relation between concepts and intuitions, Hume’s influence on Kant, the strengths and weaknesses of moral constructivism, Kant’s theory of moral feeling, the faultlines within Kant’s political philosophy, the role of cosmopolitanism in moral progress, the systematic function of the Critique of Judgment, and Kant’s alleged racism. Some critical, other exegetical or apologetic, these essays show a sustained effort to rethink Kant and explain his inescapable influence on contemporary philosophical debates.

The questions Kant poses have endured because they get at the heart of the philosophical endeavour. The continued importance of these questions is what calls for rethinking Kant in light of contemporary philosophical debates. The essays collected in this volume range from reconsidering some of the results of reason’s critique of itself to determining the role of feeling in Kant’s account of moral judgment. The last section pays particular attention to Kant’s relationship to various other figures in the history of philosophy. Together they highlight the significance of Kant for the ever-broadening landscape of philosophy in the twenty-first century.

The series Rethinking Kant bears witness to the richness and vitality of Kantian studies. The series offers an alternative publishing venue of the highest quality, attractive to scholars who want to reach a readership of specialists and non-specialist alike. The collection is unique in its kind, for it garners papers from a whole generation of Kantian thought, ranging from doctoral students and recent PhDs to well-established thinkers in the field. This is the third volume in the series. It contains papers from three regional study groups of the North American Kant Society, and thus takes the pulse of current Kantian scholarship.

The series Rethinking Kant, now in its fifth volume, has become a mirror of Kantian studies in North America. It gathers papers presented at the various study groups of the North American Kant Society, along with contributions from hosts, session chairs, and keynote speakers. Because of its broad and unique composition, it offers a sample of a whole generation of Kantian thought, ranging from recent PhD recipients, to up-and-coming young scholars, to some well-established and influential players in the field. Contributions are subjected to strenuous peer-review, and are, without exception, examples of the most innovative and cutting-edge research done in this area. As such, this collection will appeal to anyone interested in taking the pulse of contemporary Kantian scholarship and engaging in the humbling, but rewarding task of rethinking Kant.

Kant’s omnipresence in contemporary cosmopolitan discourses contrasts with the fact that little is known about the historical origins and the systematic status of his cosmopolitan theory. This study argues that Kant’s cosmopolitanism should be understood as embedded and dynamic. Inspired by Rousseau, Kant developed a form of cosmopolitanism rooted in a modified form of republican patriotism. In contrast to static forms of cosmopolitanism, Kant conceived the tensions between embedded, local attachments and cosmopolitan obligations in dynamic terms. He posited duties to develop a cosmopolitan disposition (Gesinnung), to establish common laws or cosmopolitan institutions, and to found and promote legal, moral, and religious communities which reform themselves in a way that they can pass the test of cosmopolitan universality. This is the cornerstone of Kant’s cosmopolitanism, and the key concept is the vocation (Bestimmung) of the individual as well as of the human species. Since realizing or at least approaching this vocation is a long-term, arduous, and slow process, Kant turns to the pedagogical implications of this cosmopolitan project and spells them out in his later writings. This book uncovers Kant’s hidden theory of cosmopolitan education within the framework of his overall practical philosophy.

This book examines the influence of Hume, Reid, Smith, Hutcheson, and other Scottish Enlightenment thinkers on Kant’s philosophy. It begins with the influence of these thinkers on Kant, then moves to an examination of the relationship between truth, freedom, and responsibility and its connection to Kant’s metaphysics and aesthetics.

Kant's Transition Project and Late Philosophy is the first study to provide a close reading of the connection between texts written by Kant during 1796 and 1798. Connecting Kant's unfinished book project, the Opus postumum, with the Metaphysics of Morals, it identifies and clarifies issues at the forefront of Kant's focus towards the end of his life. Labelled by Kant as the “Transition Project”, the Opus postumum generates debate among commentators as to why Kant describes the project as filling a “gap” within his system of critical philosophy. This study argues for a pervasive transition project that can be traced through Kant's entire critical philosophy and is the key to addressing current debates in the scholarship. By showing that there is not only a Transition Project in Kant's theoretical philosophy but also a Transition Project in his practical philosophy, it reveals why an accurate assessment of Kant's critical philosophy requires a new understanding of the Opus postumum and Kant's parallel late writings on practical philosophy. Rather than seeing Kant's late thoughts on a Transition as afterthoughts, they must be seen at the centre of his critical philosophy.