On the origin of the Critique of Practical Reason. The historical-philosophical context and its relevance for the translation of the work.

Abstract

The present article indagates the origin of the Critique of Practical Reason as an independent work. In opposition to the interpretations that see the origin of this work in the discovery of the antinomy of practical reason or in the discovery of the “fact” of reason, this article holds the thesis that Kant’s decision is due to a new approach to the practical knowledge. This new approach is aimed, on the one hand, at answering criticisms that objected to the existence of pure reason; on the other hand, at showing practical reason as a “complement” to the speculative reason. On the basis of the historical-philosophical contextualisation of the second Critique, the last section of the paper discusses some aspects regarding the translation of the German verb “einsehen”.