Baumgarten's Elements of First Practical Philosophy: A Critical Translation with Kant's Reflections on Moral Philosophy (Kant’s Sources in Translation)

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. Dedications 6 Contents 8 Series Editors’ Preface 9 Acknowledgements 11 Abbreviations 12 Translators’ Introduction 14 Baumgarten’s Elements of First Practical Philosophy 46 Index to the Paragraphs of the Elements of First Practical Philosophy, Prepared by Anton Bernhard Thiele 146 Kant’s Reflections on Moral Philosophy 152 Glossary 330 Works Cited 359 General Index 365