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Books by Kristi Sweet

Cambridge University Press, 2022

DescriptionContentsResourcesCoursesAbout the Authors Kant's Critique of Judgment seems not to be ... more DescriptionContentsResourcesCoursesAbout the Authors
Kant's Critique of Judgment seems not to be an obviously unified work. Unlike other attempts to comprehend it as a unity, which treat it as serving either practical or theoretical interests, Kristi Sweet's book posits it as examining a genuinely independent sphere of human life. In her in-depth account of Kant's Critical philosophical system, Sweet argues that the Critique addresses the question: for what may I hope? The answer is given in Kant's account of 'territory,' a region of experience that both underlies and mediates between freedom and nature. Territory forms the context in which purposiveness without a purpose, the Ideal of Beauty, the sensus communis, genius and aesthetic ideas, and Kant's conception of life and proof of God are best interpreted. Encounters in this sphere are shown to refer us to a larger, more cosmic sense of a whole to which both freedom and nature belong.

Argues that the question to which the third Critique speaks is: for what may I hope
Treats historically dismissed sections of the text as central to Kant's project
Presents two seemingly disparate sections of Kant's third Critique as part of a unified project of completing his critical system

Cambridge University Press, 2013

Kant's 'practical philosophy' comprehends a diverse group of his writings on ethics, politics, la... more Kant's 'practical philosophy' comprehends a diverse group of his writings on ethics, politics, law, religion, and the philosophy of history and culture. Kristi E. Sweet demonstrates the unity and interdependence of these writings by showing how they take as their animating principle the human desire for what Kant calls the unconditioned - understood in the context of his practical thought as human freedom. She traces the relationship between this desire for freedom and the multiple forms of finitude that confront human beings in different aspects of practical life, and stresses the interdependence of the pursuit of individual moral goodness and the formation of community through the state, religion, culture and history. This study of Kant's approach to practical life discovers that doing our duty, itself the realization of our individual freedom, requires that we set for ourselves and pursue a whole constellation of social, political and other communal ends.

Gives a distinctive account of what motivates Kant's practical philosophy
Discusses Kant's views on ethics, politics, religion, culture and history
Offers a new framework for interpreting long-debated issues in Kant scholarship

Book Reviews by Kristi Sweet

Papers by Kristi Sweet

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Mar 1, 2018

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 5, 2013

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 5, 2013

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 5, 2013

Kant's 'practical philosophy' comprehends a diverse group of his writings on ethics, ... more Kant's 'practical philosophy' comprehends a diverse group of his writings on ethics, politics, law, religion, and the philosophy of history and culture. Kristi E. Sweet demonstrates the unity and interdependence of these writings by showing how they take as their animating principle the human desire for what Kant calls the unconditioned - understood in the context of his practical thought as human freedom. She traces the relationship between this desire for freedom and the multiple forms of finitude that confront human beings in different aspects of practical life, and stresses the interdependence of the pursuit of individual moral goodness and the formation of community through the state, religion, culture and history. This study of Kant's approach to practical life discovers that doing our duty, itself the realization of our individual freedom, requires that we set for ourselves and pursue a whole constellation of social, political and other communal ends.

Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2010

Kant's notion of culture is typically treated in the context of his philosophy of history. In... more Kant's notion of culture is typically treated in the context of his philosophy of history. In this paper, however, I explore the importance of culture for Kant's doctrine of virtue, and argue that culture affords a new way—contra immortality—to think the possibility of attaining virtue. As I show, Kant identifies culture as a site of the self-effacement of nature in its influence on the will. Because of this, we see that for Kant the task of virtue encounters nature not only as obstacle, but also as something that serves, promotes, and advances virtue.

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Sep 24, 2018

Kant and his German Contemporaries

Kant and the Faculty of Feeling

Choice Reviews Online, 2014

Introduction 1. Freedom of the self as such: the good will, duty, and moral feeling 2. Freedom of... more Introduction 1. Freedom of the self as such: the good will, duty, and moral feeling 2. Freedom of the self over time: virtue 3. Freedom of the self and the moral world: the highest good 4. Enacting the moral world: founding and promoting a civil condition 5. Enacting the moral world: joining the ethical community 6. Human finitude undone: culture and history Conclusion: practical reason's 'peculiar fate'.

Epoché, 2010

Kant's notion of culture is typically treated in the context of his philosophy of history. In... more Kant's notion of culture is typically treated in the context of his philosophy of history. In this paper, however, I explore the importance of culture for Kant's doctrine of virtue, and argue that culture affords a new way—contra immortality—to think the possibility of attaining virtue. As I show, Kant identifies culture as a site of the self-effacement of nature in its influence on the will. Because of this, we see that for Kant the task of virtue encounters nature not only as obstacle, but also as something that serves, promotes, and advances virtue.

International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 2017

In this essay, I argue that Kant's Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View is fundamentally a... more In this essay, I argue that Kant's Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View is fundamentally about the sphere of civilization, and, with this, a particular kind of philosophical self-understanding. By civilization, Kant means to indicate the process by which human beings transform their inner natures based on pragmatic or prudential considerations born of our living together. Civilization is what we do to ourselves in order to get along with others with whom we share the earth. In the Anthropology, what we come to understand about ourselves is the possibility of transforming our inner natures based on our will.

Kant on Practical Life, 2013

Cambridge University Press, 2022

DescriptionContentsResourcesCoursesAbout the Authors Kant's Critique of Judgment seems not to be ... more DescriptionContentsResourcesCoursesAbout the Authors
Kant's Critique of Judgment seems not to be an obviously unified work. Unlike other attempts to comprehend it as a unity, which treat it as serving either practical or theoretical interests, Kristi Sweet's book posits it as examining a genuinely independent sphere of human life. In her in-depth account of Kant's Critical philosophical system, Sweet argues that the Critique addresses the question: for what may I hope? The answer is given in Kant's account of 'territory,' a region of experience that both underlies and mediates between freedom and nature. Territory forms the context in which purposiveness without a purpose, the Ideal of Beauty, the sensus communis, genius and aesthetic ideas, and Kant's conception of life and proof of God are best interpreted. Encounters in this sphere are shown to refer us to a larger, more cosmic sense of a whole to which both freedom and nature belong.

Argues that the question to which the third Critique speaks is: for what may I hope
Treats historically dismissed sections of the text as central to Kant's project
Presents two seemingly disparate sections of Kant's third Critique as part of a unified project of completing his critical system

Cambridge University Press, 2013

Kant's 'practical philosophy' comprehends a diverse group of his writings on ethics, politics, la... more Kant's 'practical philosophy' comprehends a diverse group of his writings on ethics, politics, law, religion, and the philosophy of history and culture. Kristi E. Sweet demonstrates the unity and interdependence of these writings by showing how they take as their animating principle the human desire for what Kant calls the unconditioned - understood in the context of his practical thought as human freedom. She traces the relationship between this desire for freedom and the multiple forms of finitude that confront human beings in different aspects of practical life, and stresses the interdependence of the pursuit of individual moral goodness and the formation of community through the state, religion, culture and history. This study of Kant's approach to practical life discovers that doing our duty, itself the realization of our individual freedom, requires that we set for ourselves and pursue a whole constellation of social, political and other communal ends.

Gives a distinctive account of what motivates Kant's practical philosophy
Discusses Kant's views on ethics, politics, religion, culture and history
Offers a new framework for interpreting long-debated issues in Kant scholarship

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Mar 1, 2018

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 5, 2013

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 5, 2013

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Aug 5, 2013

Kant's 'practical philosophy' comprehends a diverse group of his writings on ethics, ... more Kant's 'practical philosophy' comprehends a diverse group of his writings on ethics, politics, law, religion, and the philosophy of history and culture. Kristi E. Sweet demonstrates the unity and interdependence of these writings by showing how they take as their animating principle the human desire for what Kant calls the unconditioned - understood in the context of his practical thought as human freedom. She traces the relationship between this desire for freedom and the multiple forms of finitude that confront human beings in different aspects of practical life, and stresses the interdependence of the pursuit of individual moral goodness and the formation of community through the state, religion, culture and history. This study of Kant's approach to practical life discovers that doing our duty, itself the realization of our individual freedom, requires that we set for ourselves and pursue a whole constellation of social, political and other communal ends.

Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2010

Kant's notion of culture is typically treated in the context of his philosophy of history. In... more Kant's notion of culture is typically treated in the context of his philosophy of history. In this paper, however, I explore the importance of culture for Kant's doctrine of virtue, and argue that culture affords a new way—contra immortality—to think the possibility of attaining virtue. As I show, Kant identifies culture as a site of the self-effacement of nature in its influence on the will. Because of this, we see that for Kant the task of virtue encounters nature not only as obstacle, but also as something that serves, promotes, and advances virtue.

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Sep 24, 2018

Kant and his German Contemporaries

Kant and the Faculty of Feeling

Choice Reviews Online, 2014

Introduction 1. Freedom of the self as such: the good will, duty, and moral feeling 2. Freedom of... more Introduction 1. Freedom of the self as such: the good will, duty, and moral feeling 2. Freedom of the self over time: virtue 3. Freedom of the self and the moral world: the highest good 4. Enacting the moral world: founding and promoting a civil condition 5. Enacting the moral world: joining the ethical community 6. Human finitude undone: culture and history Conclusion: practical reason's 'peculiar fate'.

Epoché, 2010

Kant's notion of culture is typically treated in the context of his philosophy of history. In... more Kant's notion of culture is typically treated in the context of his philosophy of history. In this paper, however, I explore the importance of culture for Kant's doctrine of virtue, and argue that culture affords a new way—contra immortality—to think the possibility of attaining virtue. As I show, Kant identifies culture as a site of the self-effacement of nature in its influence on the will. Because of this, we see that for Kant the task of virtue encounters nature not only as obstacle, but also as something that serves, promotes, and advances virtue.

International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 2017

In this essay, I argue that Kant's Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View is fundamentally a... more In this essay, I argue that Kant's Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View is fundamentally about the sphere of civilization, and, with this, a particular kind of philosophical self-understanding. By civilization, Kant means to indicate the process by which human beings transform their inner natures based on pragmatic or prudential considerations born of our living together. Civilization is what we do to ourselves in order to get along with others with whom we share the earth. In the Anthropology, what we come to understand about ourselves is the possibility of transforming our inner natures based on our will.

Kant on Practical Life, 2013

Kant on Practical Life, 2013

Kant on Practical Life, 2013

Kant on Practical Life, 2013

Kant's 'practical philosophy' comprehends a diverse group of his writings on ethics, ... more Kant's 'practical philosophy' comprehends a diverse group of his writings on ethics, politics, law, religion, and the philosophy of history and culture. Kristi E. Sweet demonstrates the unity and interdependence of these writings by showing how they take as their animating principle the human desire for what Kant calls the unconditioned - understood in the context of his practical thought as human freedom. She traces the relationship between this desire for freedom and the multiple forms of finitude that confront human beings in different aspects of practical life, and stresses the interdependence of the pursuit of individual moral goodness and the formation of community through the state, religion, culture and history. This study of Kant's approach to practical life discovers that doing our duty, itself the realization of our individual freedom, requires that we set for ourselves and pursue a whole constellation of social, political and other communal ends.

Kantian Review, 2009

When Kant announces in a letter to Reinhold that he has discovered a new domain of a priori princ... more When Kant announces in a letter to Reinhold that he has discovered a new domain of a priori principles, he situates these principles in a ‘faculty of feeling pleasure and displeasure’ (Zammito 1992: 47). And it is indeed in his Critique of Aesthetic Judgement, named in this letter the Critique of Taste, that we find his elucidation of the relation of the principle of purposiveness to the feeling of pleasure. The kinds of judgements in which our feelings are evaluated in accordance with a principle are what Kant names reflective judgements. And while reflective judgements emerge in the third Critique to include not only judgements of taste, but also judgements of the sublime and teleological judgements of nature, in this paper I will focus on the first, as the question of the relatedness of reflection to pleasure is most pronounced in this context. There is no consensus in Kant scholarship as to what the structure of reflective judgements is, as evidenced by the widely disparate view...

Journal of Transcendental Philosophy

This essay considers Kant’s concept of the highest good from a systematic point of view. The two ... more This essay considers Kant’s concept of the highest good from a systematic point of view. The two spheres of freedom and nature—of the practical and theoretical—need to be brought into a causal relation for the highest good to be achieved. Kant seems to offer numerous possibilities for how human beings are able to think that it is possible for the highest good to be attainable. I argue that it is only in the third Critique, however, that Kant articulates an answer that also establishes freedom and nature within a larger system. The third Critique does this by positing a third, independent and mediating sphere of human experience that allows a transition between freedom and nature to be effected. This answer to the problem of the highest good is distinctive because the causal efficacy of reason in attaining its own demands is preserved. I examine Kant’s view by way of an analysis of his discussion of ‘territory’ and ‘domain’ in the Introduction to the text.

History of Philosophy Society 4th Annual Meeting: Forms of Reason St. Mary’s University, San Anto... more History of Philosophy Society
4th Annual Meeting: Forms of Reason
St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TX
April 13-14, 2018

The History of Philosophy Society (HOPS) was established to support and encourage scholarship on the history of philosophy from diverse perspectives. We welcome the richness of multiple approaches to the history of philosophy, as well as explorations of various traditions (Africana, American, Asian, Caribbean, European, Latin American, etc.). HOPS provides a forum for different interpretive methods, including, but not limited to, analytical, deconstructive, feminist, hermeneutic, phenomenological, and pragmatist interpretations of texts and philosophers from antiquity through the 19th Century.

Call For Papers: Forms of Reason

Reason has gone by many names (λόγος, ratio, raison, Vernunft, etc.) and has appeared in a variety of forms in the history of philosophy. Reason has been the determining ground of existence; the intelligibility of the world; the specific difference between humans and other animals; the ruling part of the soul; a cognitive faculty; an instrument of legitimation; and has played many other roles as well. The 4th annual meeting of the History of Philosophy Society will explore these roles by surveying the forms in which reason has appeared in the history of philosophy and the way its forms have been contested.

Typically, HOPS submissions focus on a single author from a single period in the history of philosophy prior to the 20th century, but essays treating multiple authors will be considered. Submissions should be prepared for anonymous review with the author’s name, institutional affiliation, and contact information on a separate title page. Papers should be no more than 40 minutes reading length.

Keynote Speakers

Anne-Marie Schultz, Baylor University

Rocío Zambrana, University of Oregon

Please send questions and submissions (as an email attachment) to historyofphilosophysociety@gmail.com no later than January 15, 2018.