Description: "Gregory Johnson has translated a text that represents a crucial instance of the eighteenth-century struggle between a burgeoning Enlightenment and older more visionary modes of thought. His translation of Dreams of a Spirit-Seer is lucid and elegant. . . . Best of all, Johnson has translated a considerable amount of other material from Kant's texts and letters reflecting on Swedenborg. In tandem with Dreams, these other writings paint a much more complicated picture of Kant's attitude toward Swedenborg than received wisdom would have it." ---Prof. Cyril O'Regan, University of Notre Dame "Kant's . . . Dreams of a Spirit-Seer, Elucidated by Dreams of Metaphysics, has long been recognized as a pivotal moment in his developing reflection on the relation of morality to metaphysics, but the intent of its ironical tone and of its ambiguous stance toward Emanuel Swedenborg has eluded interpreters. Johnson's edition provides new insight into this work's philosophic argument, historical context, and literary character with thoroough scholarship and with his own literary flair." ---Prof. Richard Velkley, The Catholic University of America; Associate Editor, Review of Metaphysics "This is an excellent translation. Gregory Johnson's informative commentary and translations of additional, little-read material make this a valuable contribution to the scholarship." ---Prof. Susan Shell, Boston College Dreams of a Spirit-Seer, Immanuel Kant's book on Emanuel Swedenborg, has mystified readers since its publication in 1766 during Swedenborg's lifetime. The unusual style and content of Dreams have given rise to two opposing interpretations. Most Kant scholars regard the work as a skeptical attack on Swedenborg's mysticism. Other critics, however, believe that Kant regarded Swedenborg as a serious philosopher and visionary, and that Dreams both reveals Kant's profound debt to Swedenborg and coneals that debt behind the mask of irony. In addition, Dr. Gregory R. Johnson provides selections from other Kantian writings that mention Swedenborg and also contemporary reviews of Dreams, showing that Kant himself was ambivalent about Swedenborg's claims and that readers of his day questioned his position. With its extensive notes, this work is an invaluable resource for students of Kant and of Swedenborg.
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