Gesprek | Decolonizing Kant

2024 marks the 300th birthday of Immanuel Kant, one of the leading thinkers of the Enlightenment and a lasting inspiration for philosophers of all subdisciplines. Among ethicists and political philosophers, Kant is celebrated for his robust defense of equality and autonomy and is seen as a champion of human rights. Simultaneously, Kant held deeply racist views, which he taught in his lectures on 'physical geography'. One of the leading questions for current Kant scholars concerns the implications of these views for his philosophy.

In this event, we will ask the question of how to decolonize Kant. We have asked three leading scholars on Kant's philosophy and his views on race to discuss these views in the context of 18th-century Europe, the relationship between his prejudices and his celebrated philosophy, and the challenge for contemporary Kant scholars to deal with this stark contrast. In doing so, we touch upon broader questions about handling tainted canonical authors in academia and the meaning of enlightenment itself.

Over the speakers

Pauline Kleingeld is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Groningen, specializing in ethics, the history of ethics, and political philosophy, with a focus on Kantian philosophy and cosmopolitanism. As one of the most prominent scholars of Kantian ethics and political philosophy, she has directed several major research projects and received the prestigious Spinoza Prize in 2020 for her contributions to philosophy.

Huaping Lu-Adler is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University. Her academic research is situated at the intersection of Kant, philosophy of race, colonialism, slavery, and social epistemology. She has authored significant works regarding these topics, including a book on Kant’s relation to race and racism.

Reza Mosayebi is a Professor at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, where he contributes to philosophical research and education. His work primarily focuses on the intersections of Kantian philosophy, human rights, and concepts of justice, exploring themes such as the practical implications of Kant's moral philosophy and the role of dignity and human rights in contemporary ethical discourse.

Andrea Marlen Esser is a Professor of Practical Philosophy at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, specializing in political philosophy and the works of Kant and Hannah Arendt. In her academic work, she critically engages with issues of racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism in classical German philosophy 

Register

Hosted by the Philosophy Department of the University of Amsterdam and the Goethe-Institut Amsterdam, in cooperation with Duitsland Instituut Amsterdam