In Kants Wake: Philosophy in the Twentieth Century

From the vantage point of a new century, twentieth–century philosophy in the Western world can be grouped according to four main trends: Marxism, Anglo–American analytic philosophy, American pragmatism, and continental philosophy. Rockmore evaluates the different strands of these discussions and analyzes their origins, arguing that they all evolved in reaction to Kant’s fascinating and demanding philosophy. Assuming that the history of philosophy, and philosophy itself, are continuous, Rockmore evaluates the extent to which the debate served to move the issues forward, and provides an intriguing assessment of the accomplishments of twentieth–century philosophy. Intended for readers with little background in philosophy, this volume provides a sense of the main thinkers and problems, and of the nature of the debates in a tumultuous time.

Introduction. 1. Toward Interpreting Twentieth Century Philosophy. 2. Kant and the Post–Kantian Debate. 3. On Marxism in the twentieth century. 4. Pragmatism as epistemology. 5. Continental philosophy as phenomenology. 6. Anglo–American analytic philosophy. 7. Kant and Twentieth Century Philosophy. Notes. Index

Tom Rockmore is Professor of Philosophy at Duquesne University. His previous publications include Cognition: An Introduction to Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit (1997), Marx after Marxism (Blackwell, 2002), Before and After Hegel: A Historical Introduction to Hegel’s Thought (2003), The Philosophical Challenges of September 11 (edited with Joseph Margolis and Armen T. Marsoobian, Blackwell, 2004), On Constructivist Epistemology (2005), and Hegel, Idealism and Analytic Philosophy (2005).

"...there is no other book of comparable length offering such comprehensive coverage of 20th–century philosophy. The book is also well written, interesting, and packed with information about the development of philosophy in the last century." D. Haugen, Choice “ In Kant’s Wake is a brilliant book. It brings the story of contemporary philosophy back to its roots in Kant’s Copernican revolution, reminding us of the importance of knowing our past.” Angelica Nuzzo, Brooklyn College “Rockmore has written a clear, concise, and compelling account of twentieth–century philosophy, focusing on two rich interpretations of Kant’s thought in order to illuminate four major twentieth–century movements. In Kant’s Wake makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of the intellectual currents of the last century as it inspires us to think about the future of Western philosophy.” Mitchell Aboulafia, Pennsylvania State University