Search

The author argues that Immanuel Kant, in the 'Critique of Pure Reason,' deliberately avoided sociology for architectonic and structural reasons. The possibility that Kant may have considered a sociological edition of the Critique prior to his death is discussed.

Scholars who claim that Hegel's theories on social reality are a mere extension of Kant's idealism miss the fundamental distinctions between their philosophical approaches. While Kant used the supposedly scientific and objective approach in studying nature on his studies of human nature, Hegel recognized that reality is not bound by a single individual's conscious conception of truth. Hegel believes that study of human relations with each other is the key to the understanding of social reality.

The book 'The Construction of Social Reality' by John Searle is analyzed. Searle advocates the theory that self-reference is a puzzle or problem that can be solved. The solution will be to substitute institutional reality with physical reality and show the application of philosophical wisdom on physical reality. He also believes that institutional reality is made possible by language which itself is language-dependent.

This relatively slender and elegant volume contains an eighteen page bibliography with over 160 recent entries drawn eclectically from jurisprudence and the philosophy of language. Bix is modestly apologetic about [...]