On the Resilience of Reason. Phenomenology, Pragmatism, and Neo-Kantianism in Times of Social Crisis

The planned interdisciplinary conference will address skepticism regarding Enlightenment notions such as historical progress and rational social organization as well as concepts that emerged in response to the rise of fascism and the breakdown of the international order following World War I during the 1930s and 1940s. It will focus on phenomenologists, pragmatists, and Neo-Kantians, who are viewed as inheritors of the transatlantic Enlightenment project. These thinkers sought to make reason and trust in society’s potential for progress resilient in the face of historical developments that contradicted previous expectations and threatened to undermine their ideals and values. The conference will explore historiographical perspectives on philosophers as agents within specific political contexts, as well as systematic reconstructions of normative arguments articulated during the intellectual struggles of the time. Ultimately, the conference aims to draw lessons for the historical challenges we face today.