The Bounds of Sense

work by Strawson

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July 20, 2026

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P.F. Strawson's The Bounds of Sense (1966) critically examines Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Strawson, a prominent figure in analytic philosophy, sought to determine which aspects of Kant's transcendental idealism could be defended. His work aimed to revive interest in metaphysics by analyzing ordinary language to understand traditional philosophical questions. While his assessment of Kant's idealism was considered by some to be uncharitable, it stimulated significant new scholarship on Kant in the Anglo-American philosophical tradition.12

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Sir Peter Strawson
In The Bounds of Sense (1966), Strawson attempted to determine how much of the metaphysics of Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (1781; 2nd ed. 1787) could be plausibly defended. His arguably uncharitable assessment of Kant’s transcendental idealism nevertheless inspired much new Anglo-American scholarship on Kant…
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In The Bounds of Sense (1966), Strawson attempted to determine how much of the metaphysics of Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (1781; 2nd ed. 1787) could be plausibly defended. His arguably uncharitable assessment of Kant’s transcendental idealism nevertheless inspired much new Anglo-American scholarship on Kant…
Read More