The Critique of Pure Reason


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.5 stars; 55 reviews)

The Critique of Pure Reason, first published in 1781 with a second edition in 1787, has been called the most influential and important philosophical text of the modern age.

Kant saw the Critique of Pure Reason as an attempt to bridge the gap between rationalism (there are significant ways in which our concepts and knowledge are gained independently of sense experience) and empiricism (sense experience is the ultimate source of all our concepts and knowledge) and, in particular, to counter the radical empiricism of David Hume (our beliefs are purely the result of accumulated habits, developed in response to accumulated sense experiences). Using the methods of science, Kant demonstrates that though each mind may, indeed, create its own universe, those universes are guided by certain common laws, which are rationally discernible. (Summary by Ticktockman) (26 hr 9 min)

Chapters

Preface to the First Edition, 1781 20:04 Read by ML Cohen
Preface to the Second Edition, 1787 53:26 Read by ML Cohen
Introduction 40:45 Read by Stewart Wills
Transcendental Doctrine of Elements--Space 20:21 Read by Carl Manchester
Transcendental Doctrine of Elements--Time 37:25 Read by Carl Manchester
Transcendental Logic 26:14 Read by JemmaBlythe
Transcendental Analytic 23:33 Read by Hugh McGuire
Deduction of the Pure Conceptions 17:20 Read by Gesine
Transcendental Deduction of the Pure Conceptions 32:34 Read by James Tiley
Application of the Categories to Objects of the Senses 48:46 Read by James Tiley
Analytic of Principles/Schematism 45:14 Read by Robert Scott
System of All Principles of the Pure Understanding 15:11 Read by Kirsten Ferreri
Systematic Representation of All Synthetical Principles/1st Analogy 1:24:59 Read by Robert Scott
Second Analogy 36:48 Read by Kirsten Ferreri
Third Analogy 14:47 Read by Kirsten Ferreri
The Postulates of Empirical Thought 43:08 Read by ML Cohen
Division of All Objects into Phenomena and Noumena 34:55 Read by Lisa Chau
Of the Equivocal Nature of Amphiboly 12:25 Read by Carl Manchester
Remark on the Amphiboly of the Conceptions of Reflections 55:51 Read by Robert Scott
Transcendental Dialectic: Introduction 9:07 Read by tubeyes
Of the Conceptions of Pure Reason 1:14:18 Read by James Tiley
Of the Dialectical Procedure of Pure Reason 4:49 Read by Geoff Dugwyler
Of the Paralogisms of Pure Reason 49:08 Read by Geoff Dugwyler
The Antinomy of Pure Reason 26:52 Read by D.E. Wittkower
Antithetic of Pure Reason/1st & 2nd Conflicts 38:56 Read by D.E. Wittkower
3rd & 4th Conflict of the Transcendental Ideas 29:49 Read by D.E. Wittkower
Of the Interest of Reason in these Self-Contradictions 27:35 Read by D.E. Wittkower
Of the Necessity Imposed upon Pure Reason of Presenting a Solution of its Trans… 40:09 Read by D.E. Wittkower
Critical Solution of the Cosmological Problem 35:03 Read by D.E. Wittkower
Empirical Use of the Regulative Principle of Reason with regard to the Cosmolog… 32:20 Read by D.E. Wittkower
Solution of the Cosmological Idea of the Totality of the Deduction of Cosmical … 51:16 Read by D.E. Wittkower
Solution of the Cosmological Idea of the Totality of the Dependence of Phenome… 15:24 Read by D.E. Wittkower
The Ideal of Pure Reason 26:29 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Of the Arguments Employed by Speculative Reason in Proof of the Existence of a … 28:55 Read by ML Cohen
Of the Impossibility of a Cosmological Proof of the Existence of God 26:53 Read by ML Cohen
Of the Impossibility of a Physico-Theological Proof 34:04 Read by ML Cohen
Of the Regulative Employment of the Ideas of Pure Reason 1:06:38 Read by Robert Scott
Of the Ultimate End of the Natural Dialectic of Human Reason 51:33 Read by Kirsten Ferreri
Transcendental Doctrine of Method 3:06 Read by Kirsten Ferreri
Discipline of Pure Reason in the Sphere of Dogmatism 42:22 Read by Judy Bieber
Discipline of Pure Reason in Polemics 50:46 Read by Judy Bieber
Discipline of Pure Reason in Hypothesis 20:45 Read by Judy Bieber
Discipline of Pure Reason in Relation to Proofs 20:33 Read by Judy Bieber
The Canon of Pure Reason 14:37 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Ideal of the Summum Bonum as a Determining Ground of the Ultimate End of Pure R… 24:53 Read by ML Cohen
Of Opinion, Knowledge, and Belief 19:10 Read by Carl Manchester
The Architectonic of Pure Reason 30:13 Read by ML Cohen
The History of Pure Reason 9:52 Read by Gesine

Reviews

Challenge


(4 stars)

Kant is difficult. For some reason I remember this audio book being the worst one I ever listened to. I almost abandoned it because a lot of the time I felt like I wasn't getting anything out of it, like someone was reading something REALLY boring and annoying. I seem to remember there being a lot of problems with the naming of these sections where there would be a reader, then another reader, then another reader, listing off Kant's extremely long chapter titles. In listening to a few of the tracks again that problem seems to have been corrected. This is NOT Baby's First Philosophy Book. I would NEVER have read Kant in book form. I would have just bought this book and it would have sat on my shelf and collected dust. I did finish it in audio book form thanks to librivox. I'm not sure if I remember it though.

Davep


(4 stars)

Kant is incredibly interesting however he is hard to follow. Especially when the recordings stop halfway through the chapter or jump to a previous chapter which has happened to me a few times throughout this reading. That said I still enjoyed the book I only recommend you take note of your place within the reading every once in a while so if it jumps to a different spot you know where you are. The free knowledge is worth the technical difficulties.


(5 stars)

While some of the readings were difficult to follow, given how dry the text is to begin with, I really have to commend the volunteers that worked on this. Barring the rampant mispronunciation of a priori, apagogic, and at times apodeictic, it was probably the most accessible version of this text I’ve seen/read.

thank you readers. difficult book, but worth the listen.


(5 stars)

A tough but interesting listen


(3.5 stars)

I can't say I enjoyed this book but I didn't expect to. I'd always wanted to hear what Kant has to say about Pure Reason. I was not disappointed by his thought process but he sure knows how to make things sound more complicated than they are and repeats himself endlessly in his effort to be extremely precise, leaving absolutely nothing to the reader's interpretation. I started enjoying this when he finally arrived at his critique of theological proof but even those feel drawn out to infinity. The best chapter is "Of opinion, knowledge and belief", where we finally get to hear, if only briefly, what Kant's actual philosophy is, rather than what he criticises in other philosophies and uses of reason. Unfortunately, some chapters are badly read or recorded and some are not in the correct order. But overall I'm glad I've finally been able to listen to this milestone of reason, which I would probably never have read otherwise.

One of the best critiques of pure reason


(5 stars)

Within the pages of this text, Immanuel investigates the limits of reasoned thinking (what is also called "reason" and spoken of anthropomorphically as though it were itself a subject) in seeking a general scientific grounding to both philosophy and natural science itself. What Immanuel discovers is that reason is not omnipotent or indeed capable of investigating a terrific number of questions (much less their answers) to which philosophers since antiquity had tried to speculate upon. These verboten topics include the existence or characteristics of a god. the existence or characteristics of an immaterial soul, and the metaphysical possibility of freedom of the will. If the text itself is confusing for you, try starting with Kant's "Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics." It is one of the best prefatory texts to the possibility of metaphysics that I have read. Highly recommended.


(4 stars)

The text is difficult, and the translation likely adds to the difficulty. Kant himself expresses the need to use every day terminologies if they exists, and many of the concepts that he speaks about do now have common terms. Many of the readers are very good, but the reader of the section transcendental logic delivers an almost unintelligible monotone reading that makes one of the most important preliminary sections of this book impenetrable.

Do your homework


(4 stars)

Identifying the unfamiliar words is a must! And.... one must remember that this is a direct, at times indirect response to David Hume's empirical POV. Possibly one of the toughest philosophical reads all time.