About the project
Ethics and political philosophy are integral both to human individual activities and to social interactions, and yet philosophy in the Kantian tradition has reinforced the separation of these two domains. This project has aimed to resolve a confusion in the intellectual foundation of ethics and show how it can reclaim its interrelation with political philosophy.
This aim was achieved by analysing the long-neglected, yet significant, influence of Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten on Kant’s division of ethics from political philosophy, or what Kant calls the "doctrine of virtue" from the "doctrine of right".
Goal
Although philosophers have struggled to understand why Kant separated so clearly ethics and political philosophy, we still do not have a complete grasp of this separation. The key to understanding this separation is the conceptual apprehension of Baumgarten’s legacy in Kant’s philosophy.
By filling the knowledge gap and gathering fresh insights into an important but neglected figure in the history of philosophy, we gained an improved understanding of a crucial distinction in Kant’s philosophy. Analysing the influence of Baumgarten on Kant, the project aimed to show that developing a refined concept of justice is important for answering the questions arising from the tension between ethics and political philosophy.
Duration
From 01.09.21 to 31.08.23.
Financing
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101027095.
Events
Workshop on Jens Timmermann's book Kant's Will at the Crossroads: An Essay on the Failings of Practical Rationality
This workshop discusses Jens Timmermann's latest monograph on Kant's theory of practical failure.
Time and place: – , PAM 389
Program
10:15–10:30 Coffee/Tea
10:30–10:45 Welcome
10:45–11:15 Introduction to the book (Jens Timmermann, University of St Andrews)
11:15–12:00 Chapter 1 'Introduction' (Michael Kryluk, University of Oslo)
12:00–13:00 Lunch
13:00–13:45 Chapter 2 'Happiness' (Elisabeth Widmer, University of Oslo)
13:45–14:30 Chapter 3 'The law and the Good' (Toshiro Osawa, University of Oslo)
14:30–14:45 Coffee/Tea Break
14:45–15:30 Chapter 5 'The Emergence of Practical Reason' (Reidar Maliks, University of Oslo)
15:30–16:15 Chapter 6 'Incentives, Maxims, and Freedom' (Christel Fricke, University of Oslo)
16:15–16:30 Reply by Timmermann
16:30–17:00 Concluding discussion
This workshop is supported by DEKANT, a project that receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101027095. It is also supported by the Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas, University of Oslo.
Organizer
Toshiro Osawa
Reading Group on Kant's Doctrine of Virtue
This reading group discusses §§23–36 of Kant's Doctrine of Virtue of the Metaphysics of Morals in connection with a German-English edition prepared by Jens Timmermann (under contract with CUP).
Time and place: – , GMH 467
Organizer
Toshiro Osawa
Right, Virtue, and Justice: Baumgarten and Kant
Toshiro Osawa gave a talk at the 6th International ESEMP (European Society for Early Modern Philosophy) Triannual Conference, 'Rethinking the Narratives of Early Modern Philosophy'.
Time and place: , University of Copenhagen
Right, Virtue, and Justice
Toshiro Osawa gave a talk at the UK Kant Society Annual Conference.
Time and place: , King's College London
International Conference – Right and Virtue: Kant and Early Modern German Philosophy
The conference explores the relationship between ethics and political philosophy, considering their separation in the Kantian tradition in its relation to the pre-Kantian prototype.
Time and place: – , Professorboligen, Karl Johans gate 47
About
For decades, Kant scholars have debated over the relationship between right and virtue (or political philosophy and ethics, to indicate the corresponding branches of practical philosophy). The debate has resulted in yet unresolved three positions: (1) right has priority over virtue; (2) virtue has priority over right; and (3) they are independent of each other.
The conference seeks to shed a fresh light on this debate by combining two methodologies: a detailed analysis of Kant’s and Kantian philosophy; and the history of early modern German philosophy. The early modern German philosophers include, but are not limited to, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), Christian Thomasius (1655–1728), Christian Wolff (1679–1754), Christian August Crusius (1715–1775), Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714–62), and Moses Mendelssohn (1729–86). In this context, the conference explores the resources of Kantian and early modern German philosophy to scrutinize issues in contemporary practical philosophy, which arise from the tension between ethics and political philosophy.
Under the overarching theme of the relationship between right and virtue, the conference will discuss papers on these philosophers, papers on their relation to Kant, and papers that solely draw on Kant.
The conference is a part of the project DEKANT, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101027095. To learn more about this project, please find further information on the project page. The conference also receives financial support from the Norwegian Kant Society.
Program
Wednesday, 3 August
9:00-9:15 Registration
9:15-9:30 Welcome and Introduction
Morning Session
Chair: Reidar Maliks (University of Oslo)
Wolff
9:30-10:30 Keynote 1
Michael Walschots (Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg): "Perfect and Imperfect Duties: Wolff, Kant, and the Principle of Contradiction"
10:30-10:45 Coffee/Tea Break
10:45-11:30 Robert König (University of Vienna): "On Kant's non-algorithmic view of human actions" (zoom)
11:30-12:15 Valentin Braekman (Université de Fribourg): "Wolff on Natural Law, Conscience and Virtue"
Afternoon Session
Chair: Elisabeth Widmer (University of Vienna/University of Oslo)
Baumgarten and Crusius
13:30-14:30 Keynote 2
Courtney Fugate (American University of Beirut/Florida State University): "Perfectionism from Wolff to Kant"
14:45-15:30 Toshiro Osawa (University of Oslo): "Right, Virtue, and Justice: Baumgarten and Kant"
15:30-16:15 Christopher Fremaux (The University of Scranton): "Embracing Dependence: Crusius on Virtue, Right, and Natural Law"
Politics and Religion
16:30-17:15 Günter Zöller (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich): "Moral Politicians" and "Political Moralists." Kant on the Relation between Ethics, Law and Politics (zoom)
17:15-18:00 Anna Tomaszewska (Jagiellonian University in Kraków): "Does religion fill the gap between ethics and politics? Kant's conception of the 'visible church'"
Thursday, 4 August
Morning Session
Chair: Michael Kryluk (University of Oslo)
Mendelssohn and Aesthetics
9:00-10:00 Keynote 3
Melissa Merritt (University of New South Wales): "Mendelssohn and Kant on Human Progress: A Neo-Stoic Debate" (zoom)
10:15-11:00 Conrad Damstra (Brown University): "Evil, Nature, and Moral Progress: Kant's Two Responses to Moses Mendelssohn" (zoom)
11:00-11:45 Avery Goldman (DePaul University): "Kant, Mendelssohn and the Principle of Politics"
11:45-12:30 João Lemos (NOVA University of Lisbon): "Political (Aesth-)Ethics: politeness as an intermediate between right and virtue"
Afternoon Session
Chair: Feroz Mehmood Shah (University of Oslo)
Kant on Right and/or Virtue
14:00-15:00 Keynote 4
Sorin Baiasu (Keele University): "Right and Virtue in Kant: Complex Dependentism Defended"
15:15-16:00 Guus Duindam (University of Michigan): "Right, Virtue, and the Formula of Universal Law"
16:00-16:45 Chandler Hatch (Ahmedabad University): "The Rousseauvian Derivation of the Universal Principle of Right"
16:45-17:00 Closing Remarks
Further information
The conference is planned as a physical event, but we will enable participation by zoom as well. A zoom link will be sent to registered online participants prior to the event. Questions can be directed to toshiro.osawa@ifikk.uio.no.
Kant on Justice in Ethics
Toshiro Osawa gave a talk at the 46th Japanese Kant Society Annual Conference (in Japanese).
Time and place: , Online
Kant on Justice in Ethics
Toshiro Osawa gave a talk at the NAKS (North American Kant Society) Midwest Study Group Meeting.
Time and place: , Online
Kant on Justice in Ethics
Toshiro Osawa gave a talk at the IX Multilateral Kant Colloquium.
Time and place: , University of Lisbon