The ‘Critique of Practical Reason’ is the second volume in Immanuel Kant’s major Critique project. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is considered one of the giants of philosophy, of his age or any other. It is largely this book that provides the foundation of this assessment. Whether one loves Kant or hates him (philosophically, that is), one cannot really ignore him; even when one isn’t directly dealing with Kantian ideas, chances are great that Kant is made an impact.

Kant was a professor of philosophy in the German city of Konigsberg, where he spent his entire life and career. Kant had a very organised and clockwork life - his habits were so regular that it was considered that the people of Konigsberg could set their clocks by his walks. The same regularity was part of his publication history, until 1770, when Kant had a ten-year hiatus in publishing. This was largely because he was working on this book, the ‘Critique of Pure Reason’. He then published this second installment, ‘Critique of Practical Reason’, seven years later.

Kant as a professor of philosophy was familiar with the Rationalists, such as Descartes, who founded the Enlightenment and in many ways started the phenomenon of modern philosophy. He was also familiar with the Empiricist school (John Locke and David Hume are perhaps the best known names in this), which challenged the rationalist framework. Between Leibniz’ monads and Hume’s development of Empiricism to its logical (and self-destructive) conclusion, coupled with the Romantic ideals typified by Rousseau, the philosophical edifice of the Enlightenment seemed about to topple.

The foundations of this text (a much briefer one than the first Critique) can be found in the short volume ‘Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals’. Whereas ‘Groundwork’ sets out some short, basic principles, the Critique is a more synthetic text - it takes these principles and combines them with experiences, then presenting them ‘as the structure of a peculiar cognitive faculty, in their natural combination.’

According to translator and scholar Lewis White Beck, this second Critique has two functions - it affirms concepts ‘without which moral experience would be unintelligible or impossible’ while it negates dogmatism and fanaticism that claims unique ultimate insight into metaphysical realities. Kant does make his argument for the existence of the immortal soul and for God in this volume, but these are considered lesser areas of Kant’s competence. His discussion of freedom and autonomy, carried forward from his discussion in ‘Groundwork’, is much more studied and used in today’s philosophical circles.

Zip file of the entire book (194.0MB)

“… A CHILD‘S BOOK OF STORIES carried her point and the faithful Falada was doomed to die. When the news came to the ears of the real princess …”

This is a wonderful collection of classic children’s tales. It’s got EVERYTHING.

However… the downside is that there are no illustrations, and the stories are not updated for modern times (this is good AND bad I think) so they can be brutally violent and the language is not always easy to understand for kids especially.

I don’t necessarily recommend this book as a book to read stories to your children from - my 3 year old isn’t much interested in it mainly due to no pictures, but I also tone down the graphic violence a little myself when I read to him (not sure if it really matters but it’s my personal preference for him).

You can however read and/or remember the stories yourself using this collection and then tell them the stories in your own words - he loves it when I do that, and it is certainly a rich source book.

Zip file of the entire book 5.7 MB

This is a true favorite of mine, and I just wanted to make a quick plug for it. Let me just mention that I am not usually attracted so strongly to books from the 1800s written by Englishmen. In this case, I was thrilled to see it was in fact from that time.

Mr. Charles Mackay is telling the stories of several of the more absurd moments in Western history. I think that for an Englishman to do this in the time in which he was living, well, called for an unusual character, and desire to expose the truth. I believe that Mr. Mackay was historically accurate in the episodes he was chronicling, and in my reading I have had a few confirmations of his accuracy from other sources.

In my recollection, there were richly detailed chapters dedicated to the follies concerning alchemy, witchcraft, witch burnings and persecutions, financial follies, the Crusades, and the “New Age” follies of his own time (The term “New Age” as most folks know it now was coined in Mr. Mackay’s time here in the USA, although I have that from another source.)

Perhaps most enlightening or alarming, for those who don’t know, is his histories of the witch burnings of Europe, England and America. It might put one the persecutions and mass murders of Jews in Europe in the 1940’s, of Budhists in Tibet now, of Joseph Stalin’s butchery, or of the American persecution and killing of its own aboriginals, in a more realistic light.

The chapter dedicated to the Crusades I would recommend for anybody wanting a bit more background for the how and why’s of our Middle East war. I wouldn’t leave it at that though, and would recommend a book or two by Karen Armstrong as well, or instead if that is your main interest.

His interest in massive financial scams and market hysteria taking place in the 18th and 19th Centuries was particularly enlightening. It is both reassuring and humbling to know that our American S&L scams and the latest stock market frauds are nothing new. Very humorous and educational.

Mr. Mackay, all in all, exposes some of the truths we were seldom encouraged to see in our school days, and to me is one of many heroes of healthy skepticism and critical thinking, and a guard against blindly following the crowd. The book is also an argument towards humility, reminding us that so many who have done terrible wrongs, were certain they were doing God’s work.

Not the most cheery reading, but for anybody who has even once suspected we are living in a fiction, and the truth is “out there” somewhere; you will find relief here. Surely everybody in America has felt that at one time or another.

Zip file of the entire book - 412MB