Kant and Spinozism: Transcendental Idealism and Immanence from Jacobi to Deleuze (Renewing Philosophy)

This book provides a new interpretation of Kants critical work that shows Kants deep connection to Spinoza, and reveals new directions for thinking about Kant in relation to contemporary European philosophy. Beth Lord looks at Kant's philosophy in relation to four thinkers who attempted to fuse transcendental idealism with Spinoza's doctrine of immanence. Examining Jacobi, Herder, Maimon and Deleuze, Lord argues that Spinozism is central to the development of Kant's thought, and opens new avenues for understanding Kant's relation to Deleuze. In the late eighteenth century, several thinkers attempted to fuse Kant's transcendental idealism with Spinoza's philosophy of immanence. These 'Spinozistic' readings of Kant had a profound influence on the development of his theories of nature and teleology in the Critique of Judgment, and on the transformation of his philosophical system in the Opus Postumum. Lord examines Kant's relation to three of his Spinozistic readers -- F.H. Jacobi, J.G. Herder, and Solomon Maimon -- and investigates his response to their provocative suggestion that an immanent ontology solves the problems of transcendental idealism. Lord argues that this is the right context in which to understand Gilles Deleuze's reading of Kant, thereby opening new avenues for understanding both the centrality of Spinozism to Kant's thought, and the complex interrelations between Spinoza, Kant, Maimon, and Deleuze Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction....Pages 1-19 Jacobi’s Provocative Suggestion....Pages 20-40 Against Spinozistic Dogmatism....Pages 41-55 Herder and Spinozistic Naturalism....Pages 56-79 Critiques of Teleological Judgement....Pages 80-104 Maimon and Spinozistic Idealism....Pages 105-129 Deleuze and Spinozistic Difference....Pages 130-154 Spinozism in the Ether: Kant’s Opus Postumum....Pages 155-174 Conclusion: Kant on Spinoza: The Last Words....Pages 175-183 Back Matter....Pages 184-214