Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone

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Summary: What can be done in the space between your ears!
Review: Let me state up front that I do not think Kant succeeded in what he tried to do in this book. That caveat in place, Kant's book is probably the finest attempt--even to date--at grounding religious belief in something other than revelation. Now, of course that might ruffle a few feathers on both sides of the belief-fence (as it did in his day, and will continue to do), but that was Kant's goal in this text. However, no understanding of Kant's reasoning in this book (or any other of his works) can be complete without taking into account the Lutheran Pietism in which he was raised. (Regarding the review below, Kant was never Roman Catholic; the Lutheran streak is part of what made Kant who he was, for good or ill. Sorry.) The subjectivism of his Pietist background had an almost incalculable affect on Kant's philosophy and metaphysics. As a matter of fact, the subjectivist principle of his "Copernican revolution" in philosophy could arguably be seen as a natural outgrowth of the personalism that his Lutheran Pietist upbringing gave to him. Members of the Pietist sects current in Kant's day believed that religion should be realized, contained, and held deep within the inner self. They also held that religion should be expressed through simplicity and obedience to moral law. Hence, to oversimplify, we get Kant's famous "starry heavens above and the moral law within" as the two things which fill him "with ever increasing wonder."

Kant was convinced that the moral basis of religion, specifically the Christian religion, was available to any and all by simple (and no-so-simple) introspection and meditation. In this work, he sets out to show why that is the case and how it could be achieved. I am in total agreement with the previous reviewer in this respect: this book would make an excellent read in small bits, to really gain the full impact of Kant's argument. However, I am afraid that many readers (especially the more conservative ones) will not follow Kant very far down his road. The anti-supernaturalist project of Kant's book is explicit from the beginning (I wonder if we are reviewing the same book?), though I should point out that, as in his Critique of Pure Reason, Kant certainly does not refuse to entertain ideas such as miracles and such. He simply says that they are not he purview of speculative philosophy. This could become a naive fideism, but with Kant it never does (arguably). What Kant wants to do is plain in his title, and clear in his text: develop the idea of religion strictly within the bounds of reason, alone. His Idealism, unlike that of a later thinker such as Hegel who was grounded in and explictly oposed to Kant, could not climb over the dualism of mind and spirit, divine and mundane, etc. Pure philosophy was the realm of human reason, and within that realm (at least pushing against the antinomies) religion could be found and established. Anything beyond that was simply beyond the ability and thus the interest of philosophy.

I hesitiate to review books like this, since their status as classics does not need my imprimatur nor my censure. But Kant's book is not large, tightly argued, and clearly written in a language that is at once antiquated and relevant. I will commit the heresy here of recommending this book as a first-read of Kant (I know, I know...), but YOU MUST read up on Kant's life and works in a good textbook or history of philosophy. You must, and then let this be the first book of Kant's you read. I think anyone would enjoy it if you have even the smallest humanities-bone in your body. You don't need to be a philosopher of theologian to read this book of Kant's, and that's hard to say about nearly all his other works.

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Summary: Kant and Religion
Review: Though the title may imply so, Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone is not an attempt to confine religion to reason per se, but rather an attempt to display what can be perceived by reason on the subject of reason, naturally of Kant, a priori (outside of experience). When Kant encountered a topic that was outside the limits of reason (i.e. miracles) he fully conceded that reason could not explain that which is of direct Divine influence, thus making his point clear that reason can be useful within religion, but there comes a point where God takes over and reason must bow before His Sovereignty. This book contains a wealth of interesting ideas and concepts, and I personally used it to teach lessons to my Sunday School class. However, due to Kant's deeply profound writing style, this book, along with his others, is generally misunderstood, or else not understood at all. I believe that Religion would be an excellent devotional if taken in small parts over a period of time. There are many interesting concepts that could be overlooked if one rushed through, therefore it is imperative that the reader be sure to take time to think on what Kant was trying to convey. As a Christian witness, Kant made many beautiful comments on the necessity of being "Born-again" through the Son of God and on the Law of God and its influence on the sinner who is incapable of being righteous outside of this law. Kant is not someone who will be quoted in a common Sunday morning sermon, but I believe that he is an unsung Christian hero who has been disregarded due to the difficulty of his writing and his Catholic origin, at least in Protestant denominations, which to quote Catholic theologians is generally taboo. All of his works are noteworthy, but a little more effort is needed to read and understand him than the average person is willing to invest, but I believe that the insight gained from his works are well worth the effort.