Kant and the Fate of Autonomy: Problems in the Appropriation of the Critical Philosophy

The appearance of Kant's great critiques initiated a revolution in philosophy, and yet for many he is beyond reach, as if contained and reformed by his successors, and their transformations of his starting point. Beginning with Rheinhold and Fichte this process began, and within Kant's own lifetime the core of his system was being overshadowed. Their contributions, ending with Hegel, are, of course, of great interest, and yet a subtle process of taking Kant as superceded has been their legacy, and it is quite misleading. This has tremendous ramifications even in our own time, for we can see that even post-Deweyan pragmatism with its 'naturalized hegelianism' is built on this secondary strain (to say nothing of this in Marxism). Ameriks thus produces a very interesting review of Kant's 'modest system' and its remorphed descendants wherein the resurrected phoenix of metaphysical absolutes produces its spectacles. Kant is accused of foundationalism now, and yet his 'modest system' in Ameriks' phrase is actually the original of most of this later attacks.