An International Interdisciplinary Conference “Immanuel Kant in Research and Educational Space”. The 300th Anniversary of Immanuel Kant’s Birth, October 17th-18th 2024

300 years ago, not far from Olsztyn, in Königsberg, was born a man who needs no recommendation, no advertising, no tabloids. In this case, the figure speaks with his own power. An outstanding figure of the Enlightenment, around whom many stories have grown, pedantic, and extraordinarily insightful. It is difficult to imagine humanists unfamiliar with his thought, who would try to understand the significance of the Enlightenment era with no reference to his achievements, or who would try to practice metaphysics, epistemology, or axiology without taking stock of his contributions to these areas.

The University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, not only because of its proximity to Kant’s birthplace, but also because of its desire to explore the achievements of the great philosopher, will not forget about the 300th anniversary of his birth.

This academic symposium is an invitation to look together at the legacy of Kant’s philosophy - a philosopher who, in his brilliant synthesis of Enlightenment thought, both closes the modern metaphysical reflection on the world as a thing-in-itself and simultaneously opens the modern view of reality as a set of phenomena that become objects of multidimensional, scientific analysis for the human mind. Kant is the first modern teacher of critical thinking, a tool which shows human reason what it is capable of and which legitimizes it in its ambitions to dictate what laws govern nature, while at the same time highlighting reason’s limitations and warning it about abusing its potential to speak about things with respect to which one is better off accepting one’s ignorance than to give in to fantasies about obtaining ultimate knowledge. Kant, in his critical reflection on the human mind, forms the framework of modern Western thought, on one hand delineating the space for deliberations about what the human mind is, what it is capable of, and what its limitations are, while on the other reminding us that we must remember that humankind, both in its individual and social dimension, is not only the creator of the reality it inhabits, but also – first and foremost – the creator which answers for itself and what it creates. These matters appear remarkably relevant in today’s world of rapid socio-political and techno-informational transformations – a world in which questions about the limits of the human intellect with respect to AI and questions about human moral autonomy in the context of new military madness seem to reappear with increased urgency.

Thus, in light of the above, and prompted by these anniversary circumstances, we boldly invite you to reflect upon our world as seen through the lens of Immanuel Kant’s thought. We have intentionally defined the theme of our meeting as broadly as possible, as we wish to create a forum for the exchange of ideas in which the main protagonist will be Kant's philosophy, and the main creative interpreters will be us – people both rooted in his intellectual legacy and imbued with a sense of responsibility for the world we inhabit. We eagerly await your positive response and hereby announce a call for paper abstracts.

For those interested, we present the relevant details in a telegraphic summary:

 - website: www.immanuelkant300.com

 - contact and address for sending abstracts: [email protected]

 - abstract up to 500 words - presentation time allotted for talks is 20 minutes plus 10 minutes for discussion

 - venue: The University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (Poland), Faculty of Humanities

 - languages of the conference: Polish and English

The organizers will provide refreshments and the opportunity to publish papers in a peer-reviewed journal. Please email applications using the enclosed form by July 15, 2024. After submitted abstracts are accepted, a bank account number will be provided, as well as further detailed information