We are pleased to announce a Call for Applications for the 2nd International Summer School on Kant and German idealism, “Freedom and Human Nature in Kant, Fichte and Hegel”, which will be held at the University of Tübingen, on June 26th-28th 2016.

Organization: Julia Peters, Ulrich Schlösser

This year’s summer school is devoted to questions revolving around the relation between freedom and human nature in Kant, Fichte and Hegel. We start from the observation that in the 1790s, Kant is increasingly concerned with defining and analysing anthropological conditions for free, autonomous action. This raises the question of whether there is – as some commentators have suggested – a tension between Kant’s a priori reason-based concept of freedom as elaborated in his earlier critical works, and his later idea that human freedom is subject to anthropological, empirical constraints and conditions. We intend to examine the relation between Kant’s a priori and anthropological approach to human freedom. Furthermore, against this background we will look at how Fichte’s and Hegel’s way of appropriating Kant’s conception of freedom may have been influenced by their aim to integrate transcendental and anthropological perspectives on human freedom.

The summer school puts a major emphasis on in-depth reading and discussion. Combined with complementary lectures by invited speakers, extensive discussion sessions will allow participants to explore highly complex and often obscure philosophical texts in a joint effort, thereby opening up new perspectives on a central topic in Kantian and German idealist philosophy. Furthermore, by bringing together experts and students from all over the world, the summer school provides a space for dialogue between the German philosophical tradition of close textual work and the traditional Anglo-American focus on rigorous systematic argument. All discussions and public lectures at the summer school will be in English.

Confirmed speakers and discussants include:

Stephen Engstrom (University of Pittsburgh)

Wayne Martin (University of Essex)

Terry Pinkard (Georgetown University)

Owen Ware (Simon Fraser University)

Günter Zöller (LMU Munich).

Applications are invited for up to 10 SUMMER SCHOOL GRANTS for PhD students:

• Grant holders will attend the summer school, read assigned texts in advance, participate in discussions and attend lectures.
• Grants cover travel expenses (within Europe) and accommodation in Tübingen for four nights.
• Applicants must be PhD students in philosophy working on topics related to the theme of the summer school.  Postdocs are eligible to apply to attend the summer school but cannot receive a grant.
• PhD students travelling from outside Europe are welcome to apply, but their travel expenses can be covered only partially by the grant (the amount covered will be roughly equivalent to travel costs from within Europe).
• Applications should include the following documents: a CV; a statement of interest (max. two pages) outlining how the candidate’s research interests connect with the theme of the summer school and how her/his attendance of the summer school would contribute to the progress of her/his research.

Applications may be in German or English.

Application deadline: 31 March 2016.

Applications should be submitted electronically to idealismus@philosophsem.uni-tuebingen.de.

Notification of acceptance will be given by mid-April 2016.

For any queries concerning the grants or the application procedure, please contact julia.peters@uni-tuebingen.de.