Philosophy reading group has voted. Translation issues?

Question

Okay, we had one last minute vote for Kant that tipped the balance. So we will be reading Kant's Prolegomena. Now, I'm assuming (though I could be incorrect) that he wrote in German and not in English? And thus we need to be sure that we are on the same page translation-wse. Are there any philosophical equivalents to Henle edition Urtexts?

Answer 1

I suggest we use wiki:
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Prolegomena_to_Any_Future_Metaphysics
This way we will not be violating any copyrights, or forcing people to pay for access.

Answer 2

What do you mean by 'Henle edition Urtexts'?

I don't know of any serious translation issues. The printed edition I have is the 2nd edition of a revision of Paul Carus' 1902 version (the one linked above on Wikisource) by James W. Ellington (Hackett, 2001). This is an affordable edition with introduction and notes, and I can recommend it for that reason alone. But an online edition may be best, so that anyone reading it because of this group will have access to the same version.

Another issue that ought to be addressed is what kind of background knowledge is needed to begin reading this work. I think readers will have to know, at a minimum, a few basic facts about Kant's time, the philosophical issues being discussed in that time, and in the most general way, how Kant responded to them. Readers should also know something about this book -- why Kant wrote it, and what books he wrote before and after it.

Readers should also be given some preparation for the sheer mind-numbing difficulty of the book.

I think simply diving in with no knowledge of these things will create an intellectual experience comparable to diving into a pool and discovering too late that there's no water in it.

And finally, what readers should ask themselves is why they want to read Kant. A meal of 'black pepper' is what this will be -- so why bother? I think potential readers will find themselves better able to answer this question if they first find out a little about Kant and his philosophy from a secondary source.

Answer 3

this is so random

why dont you start a group?

you need to be more organised

you make a good entrepreneur but a pathetic CEO