We are glad to give notice of the new program of KU Leuven Seminar in Classical German Philosophy (Fall 2021). The program is available at this link.
The first session will take place on Thursday, 16 September 2021, 5.00-6.30 pm CET and will be the launch of the book The Experiential Turn in Eighteenth-Century German Philosophy, edited by Karin de Boer and Tinca Prunea-Bretonnet (Routledge, 2021).
After a short introduction of the book by Karin de Boer and Tinca Prunea-Bretonnet, two speakers will comment on three book chapters, followed by a response from the authors and a general discussion. Speakers will be Matteo Favaretti Camposampiero (University of Venice) and Ursula Goldenbaum (Emory University). Responses by Courtney Fugate, Annelie Grosse, Stefan Heßbrüggen-Walter, Christian Leduc, Alessandro Nannini, Falk Wunderlich, and others.
Please register through the website in order to receive the Zoom link.
***
This collection of essays challenges the prevailing assumption that eighteenth-century German philosophy prior to Kant was largely defined by post-Leibnizian rationalism and, accordingly, a low esteem of the cognitive function of the senses. It does so by highlighting the various ways in which eighteenth-century German philosophers reconceived the notion and role of experience in their efforts to identify, defend, and contest the contribution of sensibility to disciplines such as metaphysics, theology, the natural sciences, psychology, and aesthetics. Engaging in depth with Tschirnhaus, Wolff, the Wolffians, eclecticism, Popularphilosophie, the Berlin Academy, Tetens, and Kant, its thirteen chapters present a more nuanced understanding of the German reception of British and French ideas and dismiss the prevailing view that German philosophy was largely isolated from European debates. Moreover, the book introduces a number of relatively unknown, but highly relevant philosophers and developments to non-specialized scholars and contributes to a better understanding of the richness and complexity of the German Enlightenment.
Events are recorded and made available on the YouTube platform of the research group.