BODY AND PRACTICE IN KANT

136
THE BODY IN THE CRITIQUE
understand the corresponding theory of the Critique. 21 However, this is
not followed up by a more comprehensive analysis.
4.3 Some trends and positions in the interpretation of the Critique
The aim of this section is to give a brief outline of where I locate myself
relative to some existing interpretations of the Critique. As has been
pointed out, in content as well as in style, the Critique represents a
tremendous challenge to the philosophical scholar. 22 This may account
for the exuberant manifold of interpretations produced in its aftermath.
The following is intended not as a comprehensive presentation of the
various interpretations offered, but only as a rough outline of some
representative trends. 23
The disagreement surrounding the Critique concerns a number of
questions. An initial question is whether the text constitutes a coherent
piece of philosophy, or whether it is more like a patchwork of fragments
loosely combined. A well-known representative of the last position is
Norman Kemp Smith who argues that the Critique is a collection of
argumentative fragments belonging to different phases of Kant’s
intellectual development, more or less loosely connected. 24 Paul Guyer is
often presented as a modern representative of this view. 25 Numerous
interpreters have also complained that the Critique contains serious
inconsistencies, thereby questioning the coherence and unity of the work
from a somewhat different angle. 26
I belong to those who see the Critique as a fundamentally coherent
and unified work. However, I also believe it to be a text extremely rich in
21
Pitte (1978), xx.
22
As a curiosity, it may be noted that in the Anthropology (Ak VII: 137) Kant
espouses the idea that a certain level of obscurity [ein gewisser Grad des
Rätselhaften] in a text may have a positive effect on the reader. It allows him to
become aware of his own skills in bringing to light the hidden message of the text.
If Kant is right, then the obscurity of the Critique may perhaps explain some of
the fascination exerted by it upon the philosophic community since its
publication.
23
Some general aspects of the history of the interpretation of the Critique are
found in e.g. Kitcher (1990), 3ff and Gardner (1999), 30. Zoeller (1993) discusses
more recent developments.
24
Kemp Smith (1918).
25
Cf. Guyer (1987).
26
Cf. e.g. Bennett (1966), 4, 29 and 142; Strawson (1973), 16 and Neujahr
(1995), 2.