Human Nature and Morality: The Impact of British Views on 18th-Century German Philosophy

We are pleased to announce the upcoming workshop Human Nature and Morality: The Impact of British Views on 18th-Century German Philosophy, which will take place at the University of Milan on May 29–30, 2025.

The workshop brings together scholars working on 18th-century British and German philosophy to explore the complex reception of British moral thought in the German context. It focuses on the influence of thinkers such as Shaftesbury, Hutcheson, Hume, and Smith on German philosophers like Kant, Feder, and others, with particular attention to themes of moral feeling, sympathy, and the method and aims of moral philosophy.

Program:

Thursday, May 29, Aula Martinetti, Department of Philosophy

15:00–15:10 – Welcome and Opening Remarks
Stefano Bacin & Lorenzo Sala

15:10–16:20 – Olga Katharina Schwarz (Düsseldorf): German Rationalism and British Philosophy: Some Thoughts on the Question of Influence
16:20–16:40 – Coffee Break
16:40–17:50 – Michael Gill (Edinburgh): The necessity of morals, and Kant’s criticism of moral sense theory
17:50–19:00 – Michael Walschots (Mainz): Kant and the British Moralists

Friday, May 30, Aula Martinetti, Department of Philosophy

09:30–10:40 – Achim Vesper (Frankfurt): Feder on Moral Feeling
10:40–11:00 – Coffee Break
11:00–12:10 – Lorenzo Sala (Milan): The German reception of British Sentimentalism: the case of J. G. H. Feder
12:10–13:20 – Stefano Bacin (Milan): The Emergence of Sympathy in 18th-century German Philosophy

Participation is free. We look forward to welcoming you to Milan!
For further inquiries, please contact:

[email protected]
[email protected]