Kant: Political Writings

The ideas that Immanuel Kant wrote about are truly groundbreaking. The concept of a cosmopolitan existence can arguably be seen in the existense of the European Union. Really amazing stuff! Now you may ask "why then are there only four stars?". The reason that I have given this book four stars is that it captured Kant's words beautifully, but somehow forgot to dissect their meaning for the reader. The concept of rights can be very confusing and without a thorough explanation can leave the passive reader (and for that matter even an active reader at times)confused and frustrated. The price for the book itself is reasonable and I feel that it most definately will give you your money's worth.

This is the best affordable paperback collection of Kant's essays on politics and the philosophy of history. You get Perpetual Peace, Idea for a Universal History, Contest of the Faculties, The End of all Things, Theory and Practice, What is Enlightenment and several other essays. Hans Reiss' introduction is well written and illuminating as well. There is another, cheaper collection published by Hackett Publishing Co. (Perpetual Peace and Other Essays). However, it is smaller and less comprehensive than this edition.