"Here, then, we see philosophy put in fact in a precarious position, which is to be firm even though there is nothing in heaven or on earth from which it depends or on which it is based." (AK 4:425)

I’m letting Kant give the short version of the Groundwork with this quote from the book, not as he would have chosen it I reckon, but I think it fits well nevertheless.

The Cambridge edition includes a very useful introduction that guides you ever so gently through the whole shebang – and, believe me, you need a guide, even for a short work like this. There were some oddities in the translation which were cleared up with online access to the original text. Kant’s quirky style of writing is a whole nother thing – a thing in itself so to speak.

As for the read as a whole, suffice to say it was quite a knockout.

There are regular knockouts, and then there are a priori metaphysical knockouts. Reading the Groundwork is somewhat like observing a train-wreck in slo-mo; you can see it coming – only here it’s a bit like recognizing your synapses are firing in vain to figure out how to avoid this thrashing by ectoplasm (or whatever it can be called), for it’s an hopelessly uneven match.

Though you of course eventually come to your senses, and appreciate it simply as a great mental workout. So, I guess that evens it out.




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12/7/21

12/7/21

I won't like: it was disappointing. I value what Kant is trying to do but, to me, his response to the moral question felt underwhelming. ( )