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Imagination and Interpretation in Kant

The Hermeneutical Import of the Critique of Judgment

In this illuminating study of Kant’s theory of imagination and its role in interpretation, Rudolf A. Makkreel argues against the commonly held notion that Kant’s transcendental philosophy is incompatible with hermeneutics. The charge that Kant’s foundational philosophy is inadequate to the task of interpretation can be rebutted, explains Makkreel, if we fully understand the role of imagination in his work. In identifying this role, Makkreel also reevaluates the relationship among Kant’s discussions of the feeling of life, common sense, and the purposiveness of history.

195 pages | 6 x 9 | © 1990

Philosophy: Aesthetics, History and Classic Works

Table of Contents

Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
Pt. 1: The Imagination: Precritical and Critical
1: Image Formation and Synthesis: From the Precritical Writings to the Critique of Pure Reason
2: The Figurative Synthesis of Imagination and the Meaning of Experience
Pt. 2: The Imagination in the Critique of Judgment
3: The Aesthetic Imagination: Beautiful Form and Reflective Specification
4: The Regress of the Imagination: The Sublime and the Form of the Subject
5: The Life of the Imagination
Pt. 3: Judgment and Reflective Interpretation
6: Ideas of the Imagination and Reflective Interpretation
7: Teleological Ideas and the Authentic Interpretation of History
8: Common Sense and Transcendental Orientation in Hermeneutics
Bibliography
Index

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