Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten

Alexander Baumgarten’s Ethica Philosophica (1740) served as a chief textbook of philosophical instruction in German universities for several decades, and was used by Immanuel Kant for his lectures on moral philosophy between 1759 and 1794. Now translated into English for the first time, John Hymers explores the extent of Baumgarten's influence on the development of German philosophy. Accompanied by an introduction to Baumgarten and his work, this translation features an explanation of the main themes of the Ethica Philosophica, touching upon its relation to Christian Wolff and G. F. Meier’s practical philosophy, but focusing especially on its role in Kant’s lectures. First-time translations of elucidatory passages from the writings of Meier, Wolff, and Heinrich Köhler appear together with the relevant transcriptions of Kant’s lectures on ethics. Based on a thorough knowledge of the original text, Hymers' clear translation and supporting material makes it possible to distinguish Kant’s own remarks and insights from his attempts to expound and summarize Baumgarten’s ideas. This is a much-needed contribution for anyone working in the history of modern philosophy.

Alexander Baumgarten’s Ethica Philosophica (1740) served as a chief textbook of philosophical instruction in German universities for several decades, and was used by Immanuel Kant for his lectures on moral philosophy between 1759 and 1794. Now translated into English for the first time, John Hymers explores the extent of Baumgarten's influence on the development of German philosophy. Accompanied by an introduction to Baumgarten and his work, this translation features an explanation of the main themes of the Ethica Philosophica, touching upon its relation to Christian Wolff and G. F. Meier’s practical philosophy, but focusing especially on its role in Kant’s lectures. First-time translations of elucidatory passages from the writings of Meier, Wolff, and Heinrich Köhler appear together with the relevant transcriptions of Kant’s lectures on ethics. Based on a thorough knowledge of the original text, Hymers' clear translation and supporting material makes it possible to distinguish Kant’s own remarks and insights from his attempts to expound and summarize Baumgarten’s ideas. This is a much-needed contribution for anyone working in the history of modern philosophy.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1954.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1954.

This book presents the first English translation of Alexander Baumgarten’s Initia Philosophiae Practicae Primae, the textbook Kant used in his lectures on moral philosophy. Originally published in Latin in 1760, the Initia contains a systematic, but original version of the universal practical philosophy first articulated by Christian Wolff. In his personal copy, Kant penned hundreds of pages of notes and sketches that document his relation to this earlier tradition. Translating these extensive elucidations into English, together with Kant’s notes on the text, this translation offers a complete resource to Kant’s reading of the Initia. To facilitate further study, first-time translations of elucidatory passages from G. F. Meier and Wolff are also included, alongside a German-English-Latin glossary. The translators’ introduction provides a biography of Baumgarten, a discussion of the importance of the Initia, its relation to Wolff’s and Meier’s universal practical philosophy and its role in Kant’s lectures. By shedding new light on the arguments of Kant’s mature works and offering insights into his pre-Critical moral thought, Elements of First Practical Philosophy reveals why Baumgarten's work is essential for understanding the background to Kant’s philosophy.

This book presents the first English translation of Alexander Baumgarten’s Initia Philosophiae Practicae Primae, the textbook Kant used in his lectures on moral philosophy. Originally published in Latin in 1760, the Initia contains a systematic, but original version of the universal practical philosophy first articulated by Christian Wolff. In his personal copy, Kant penned hundreds of pages of notes and sketches that document his relation to this earlier tradition. Translating these extensive elucidations into English, together with Kant’s notes on the text, this translation offers a complete resource to Kant’s reading of the Initia. To facilitate further study, first-time translations of elucidatory passages from G. F. Meier and Wolff are also included, alongside a German-English-Latin glossary. The translators’ introduction provides a biography of Baumgarten, a discussion of the importance of the Initia, its relation to Wolff’s and Meier’s universal practical philosophy and its role in Kant’s lectures. By shedding new light on the arguments of Kant’s mature works and offering insights into his pre-Critical moral thought, Elements of First Practical Philosophy reveals why Baumgarten's work is essential for understanding the background to Kant’s philosophy.

La Metaphysique de Baumgarten a ete le livre de reference de Kant durant les quelque quarante annees de son enseignement consacre a ce theme. Cet ouvrage a meme inspire, dans la Logique transcendantale, le plan de composition de la Critique de la raison pure. La Metaphysique de Baumgarten fut aussi le plus celebre manuel de metaphysique en Allemagne au XVIIIe siecle. On peut y voir en quelque sorte le testament de la Schulmetaphysik, avant sa grande remise en question dans la Critique de la raison pure, et le document emblematique de ce qu'on a appele la philosophie leibnizo-wolffienne, dont Baumgarten fut peut-etre le seul veritable representant, a tout le moins le representant le plus illustre.

Now available for the first time in English, this critical translation of Metaphysica draws from the original seven Latin editions, the Academy edition of Kant, and Georg Friedrich Meier’s 18th-century German translation. To assist and support the reading of this crucial text, the translation features: * historical and philosophical introductions and sketches * extensive glossaries and notes* clear reproductions of Kant’s elucidations and handwritten notes* Eberhard’s insertions in the 1783 German editionUsed as a philosophical instruction for thinkers such as Kant, Mendelssohn, Abbt, Herder, and Maimon, Metaphysica is arguably one of philosophy’s most influential texts. Equipped with supportive and illuminating introductory material, this clear and lucid translation presents scholars of Kant, German philosophy and the history of philosophy with an indispensable resource.

English summary: The philosophy of Alexander Gottlieb Baumgartens (1714-1762) as well as its significance for the history of philosophy and of ideas has not been studied in depth up to now. This applies in particular to his Metaphysica, first published in 1739, which was in fact his most successful work but is difficult to read today due to the stiff, ungainly Latin in which it was written. Its outstanding role is demonstrated among other things by the fact that during his four decades of teaching Kant based his lectures on metaphysics, and later those on anthropology, almost consistently on this work and developed his own transcendental philosophy by examining this work continuously. The volume provides the first complete German translation along with a critically revised Latin text. The detailed introduction describes Baumgartens intellectual biography and sheds light on some of the key themes of the work. German description: Die Philosophie Alexander Gottlieb Baumgartens (1714-1762) sowie ihre Bedeutung fur die Philosophie- und Geistesgeschichte ist noch weitgehend unerforscht. Das gilt insbesondere fur seine 1739 erstmals erschienene Metaphysica, die zwar sein erfolgreichstes Werk war, aber aufgrund des sperrigen Lateins, in dem sie verfasst wurde, heute nur schwer zuganglich ist. Ihre herausragende Stellung kommt nicht zuletzt darin zum Ausdruck, dass Kant sie wahrend der vier Jahrzehnte seiner akademischen Lehrtatigkeit beinahe durchgangig seinen Vorlesungen uber Metaphysik - und spater auch denen uber Anthropologie - zugrunde legte und seine eigene Transzendentalphilosophie in bestandiger Auseinandersetzung mit ihr entwickelte. Der vorliegende Band bietet nun erstmals eine deutsche Gesamtubersetzung zusammen mit einem kritisch durchgesehenen lateinischen Text. Die ausfuhrliche Einleitung schildert Baumgartens intellektuelle Biographie und beleuchtet einige der zentralen Themen des Werks.

Die Metaphysik von Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, zuerst in lateinischer Sprache 1739 erschienen, war seinerzeit eines der verbreitetsten Philosophie-Lehrbücher. Auch Immanuel Kant legte es seinen Metaphysik-Vorlesungen zu Grunde. Nach Baumgartens Tod übersetzte sein Schüler Georg Friedrich Meier das Werk; und 1783 wurde es nochmals von Johann August Eberhard mit Kommentaren herausgegeben. Die vorliegende Ausgabe gibt den Text der Ausgabe 1783, mit allen Abweichungen zur Ausgabe von 1739. Ergänzt wird der Text durch eine Einführung von Dagmar Mirbach, eine Konkordanz zur lateinischen Ausgabe und durch eine Bibliographie der Werke Baumgartens.