Offsetting a study of Kant's theory of cognition with a mixture of intellectual history and biography, Kant's Organicism offers readers an accessible portrait of Kant's scientific milieu in order to show that his standing interests in natural history and its questions regarding organic generation were critical for the development of his theoretical philosophy. By reading Kant's theoretical work in light of his connection to the life sciences - especially his reflections on the epigenetic theory of formation and genesis - Jennifer Mensch provides a new understanding of much that has been otherwise obscure or misunderstood in it. "Epigenesis"- a term increasingly used in the late eighteenth century to describe an organic, nonmechanical view of nature's generative capacities - attracted Kant as a model for understanding the origin of reason itself. Mensch shows how this model allowed Kant to conceive of cognition as a self-generated event and thus to approach the history of human reason as if it were an organic species with a natural history of its own. She uncovers Kant's commitment to the model offered by epigenesis in his first major theoretical work, the Critique of Pure Reason, and demonstrates how it informed his concept of the organic, generative role given to the faculty of reason within his system as a whole. In doing so, she offers a fresh approach to Kant's famed first Critique and a new understanding of his epistemological theory.

About the Author
Jennifer Mensch teaches philosophy and the history of science and medicine at the Pennsylvania State University.

Reviews
"A striking and radical rereading of the first Critique through the concept of 'epigenesis.'... Mensch's reading is bold and innovative, it deserves to be debated at length by Kant scholars." (Radical Philosophy Review)



Book Information
ISBN 9780226271514
Author Jennifer Mensch
Format Paperback
Page Count 258
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 397g
Dimensions(mm) 23mm * 16mm * 2mm