Hegel's Critique of Kant

Sally Sedgwick presents a fresh account of Hegel's critique of Kant's theoretical philosophy. She argues that Hegel offers a compelling critique of and alternative to the conception of cognition that Kant defended in his 'Critical' period. The book examines key features of what Kant identifies as the 'discursive' character of our mode of cognition, and considers Hegel's reasons for arguing that these features condemn Kant's theoretical philosophy to scepticism as well as dualism. Sedgwick goes on to present in a sympathetic light Hegel's claim to derive from certain Kantian doctrines clues to a superior form of idealism, a form of idealism that better captures the nature of our cognitive powers and their relation to objects. I found this a superb book-a focused and convincing account of the nature of Hegel's critical relation to Kant. There has been much written on the Hegel-Kant relation, especially in recent times-exactly what does Hegel wants to abandon in Kant? What does he want to preserve? To what extent is his approach a 'Kantian one'?-but I cannot think of another work which does this so clearly and with such conceptually articulated detail. Hegel's Critique of Kant will surely make an important contribution to an area of Kant-Hegel scholarship that is of contemporary interest and around which there exists considerable controversy. Paul Redding, University of Sydney [Her reading] does much to dispel some of the cruder characterizations of Hegel's criticisms of Kant, and to show that these criticisms are deeper than often supposed ... [The book] will therefore clearly make a considerable mark on any future debates in this area, and I would expect it to become a central point of reference. Robert Stern, British Journal of the History of Philosophy The book is carefully argued and gives the most comprehensive account yet of Hegel's engagement with Kant's theoretical philosophy ... As a whole, this book sets a new standard for research on the relation of Kant and Hegel... It should be required reading for anyone hoping to comprehend the origins and aims of Hegel's project. Dean Moyar, Mind Sedgwick's interpretations of the nature and roots of Hegel's critique should be immediately adopted as the new standard line. David Landy, Kantian ReviewIntroduction ; 1. Intuitive versus Discursive Forms of Understanding in Kant's Critical Philosophy: Introduction ; 2. Organic Unity as the 'True Unity' of the Intuitive Intellect ; 3. Hegel on the 'Subjectivity' of Kant's Idealism ; 4. Hegel on the Transcendental Deduction of the First Critique ; 5. Subjectivity as Part of an Original Identity ; 6. The Question-Begging Nature of Kantian Critique: Kant on the Arguments of the Antinomies ; Bibliography ; Index