Marcus Willaschek, Kant on the Sources of Metaphysics. The Dialectic of Pure Reason (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018).

Abstract

This book provides an extensive and insightful analysis of the Dialectic of Kant’s first Critique. Willaschek’s aim is to focus on the constructive side of the Transcendental Dialectic and, besides Kant’s critique of speculative metaphysics, highlight the relevance of the Rational Sources Account (RSA), that is Kant’s discovery that the sources of metaphysical thinking lie in reason itself. According to Willaschek, reason’s metaphysical features comes from three main issues: 1) the discursive character of human thinking – for reason proceeds from elements to synthetic cognitive claims; 2) the iterative character of rational explanation – where every inquiry concerning reason-giving can be, in principle, always reiterated (if A is because of B, the question why B is always legitimate); 3) the rational need for completeness – for reason’s satisfaction relies on answers which do not raise further questions.