Kant and Hobbes on the Justification and Limitation of State Power

The seventh annual St Andrews/Stirling Kant Reading Party will be dedicated to Kant and Hobbes and will take place Monday 28th to Thursday 31st July at The Burn in Edzell, Angus.

This year's theme will be "Kant and Hobbes on the Justification and Limitation of State Power". We will examine how Kant and Hobbes justify state power, its extent and limitations, and explore links between their treatments of the state of nature, the civil condition, and the illegitimacy of revolutions. We will read and discuss passages from both Kant and Hobbes. A reader with the relevant passages will be made available previous to the event. All texts will be made available in English. There will also be slots for student papers and discussion (see below).

The location of the Reading Party, The Burn, is approximately one hour from St Andrews and offers excellent opportunities for hiking and other pastimes.

*Fees*: The participation fee will be 175 GBP for staff members, 100 GBP for students, and 50 GBP for students invited to give papers. The fee covers transportation from St Andrews to The Burn and back, as well as accommodation and full board for the Reading Party. (The fees may be reduced should we be able to acquire further funding.)

*Registration*: The number of participants is limited to 25. To secure your place on the list of participants please send an email with an informal application to Martin Sticker [email protected]> as soon as possible. Please send an email even if you have been in touch with conference organizers before, and confirm your participation.

*Call for Papers*: Postgraduate students are invited to submit abstracts of not more than 500 words for talks related to Hobbes and Kant. Priority will be given to papers who specifically address the topic of the Reading Party. The deadline for the call for papers is the 1st of June. The abstracts should be prepared for blind review and sent to Martin Brecher [email protected]>. Notification of acceptance will be sent out by the end June.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with Martin Sticker [email protected]>.

Feel free to distribute this announcement to friends, colleagues and anyone interested.

Organizers:
        Martin Sticker [email protected]>
        Leonard Randall [email protected]>
        Martin Brecher [email protected]>
        Parttyli Rinne [email protected]>
        Jens Timmermann [email protected]>

The St Andrews/Stirling Kant Reading Party is made possible by support from:
        The Scots Philosophical Association
        The GRADskills programme at the University of St Andrews
        The UK Kant Society