Late Kant: Towards Another Law of the Earth

Fenves becomes one of the first to thoroughly explore Kant's later writings and give them the detailed scholarly attention they deserve. In his opening chapters, Fenves examines in detail the various essays in which Kant invents, formulates and complicates the thesis of "radical evil"--a thesis which serves as the point of departure for all his later writings.Late Kantthen turns towards the counter-thesis of "radical mean-ness," which states that human beings exist on earth for the sake of another species or race of human beings. The consequences of this startling thesis are that human beings cannot claim possession of the earth, but must rather prepare the earth for its rightful owners.

Peter Fenves is Professor of German, Comparative Literature, and Jewish Studies at Northwestern University.