(
De. Kritik der reinen Vernunft). First edition (A), 1781; second edition (B), 1787.
Immanuel Kant's seminal work on the possiblity of metaphysical knowledge. The work supersedes Kant's inaugural dissertation, expounding what is now known as his critical philosophy.
The Critique concerns itself with the possibilty of a priori synthetic cognition (Erkenntnis). Cognition (often translated as `knowledge') is a priori when it precedes experience; that is, when it is completely non-empirical in origin. Cognition is synthetic when it seeks to relate two different things; the opposite is `analytic' cognition, which occurs when the subject is `contained in' the predicate (that is, analytic cognition produces nothing new). Kant argues that synthetic a priori cognition is necessary for a science of metaphysics.
In addition to defining the conditions for metaphysical knowledge, Kant places bounds on our metaphysical knowledge. That is, he demonstrates certain things that are fundamentally unknowable through reason. For example, we can never know things in themselves---we only have experience of appearances, and cannot extend our knowledge beyond.
Among other things, Kant proves in the Critique that:
The work is divided into a hierarchical structure:
- Preface
- Introduction
- Transcendental Doctrine of Elements
- Transcendental Aesthetic
- Transcendental Logic
- Transcendental Analytic
- Transcendental Dialectic
Transcendental Doctrine of Method
The standard English translation is that of Norman Kemp Smith, though there is a more recent, quite good, one by Paul Guyer and Allen W. Wood (Cambridge Press).
Kant's Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics is a partial guide to the Critique. The Critique itself paves the way for Kant's later works, such as Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Critique of Practical Reason, Critique of Judgement, and Religion Within the Bounds of Reason Alone.