DayMindXPression is a writing repository by Daniel Shin. The online magazine focuses on various subjects that come to mind. As a place to publish various essays and articles, Day Mind XPression and its content are copyrighted.
© 2007 – 2008 Daniel Shin
I have been noticing that I have been reading a lot. Everywhere I go, I have some reading material at hand. No, I am not full blown book-geek per se but more of a reader with a diverse appetite.
For most people with some familiarity in philosophy, reading Kant is almost a suicidal venture, if you intend to have a pleasant reading experience. Reading Kant is quite difficult, not because he is a bad writer but because he is venturing on a difficult philosophical task. Meaning, it is a pleasant intellectual reading experience.
To be fair, I already had the pleasant experience to read most of Kant’s first Critique. I am somewhat familiar with his philosophical views from metaphysics to ethics. While I find most of his philosophical project fascinating, I am mostly interested in his political philosophy. So, the first book I am reading for the summer is “Kant: Political Writings”.
I’ve already read several Kant’s Political Theory works, but I intend to finish this book, which is a compilation of several Kant’s works. There are two reasons for reading this particular book: 1) bragging rights and 2) have a deeper understanding on his political philosophy.
Combining these two reasons, I gain some authority to accuse several established academics for misreading Kant’s political philosophical work. It seems to be a pattern among some academics to read only a few works by a particular philosopher before they either 1) launch a barrage of puzzling attacks or 2) misappropriate the work for their own theorizing projects. This is an embarrassment and needs to stop.
Even if I throw out the original intentions for reading this difficult work (this is still one of the most accessible work by Kant), I love the formal writing style and the occasional memorable metaphors in the text. It’s an enjoyable experience for any serious student of Philosophy.
I plan to write a short article after reading each writings in the book for myself reflection. The first article, which I am almost finished, reading, is actually not by Kant but by an introduction by H. S. Reiss. It’s a great introduction, and I will write my reflection soon.
