The St Andrews Kant Reading Party 2026: Topics in Kant and Hegel's Philosophy of Law

It is our pleasure to invite you to the 16th St Andrews Kant Reading Party. The event will take place from 24 to 27 July 2026 at The Burn in Angus, to be followed by a one-day ‘Kant in Progress’ workshop at the University of St Andrews on 28 July 2026.

The Kant Reading Party is an annual academic retreat in the Scottish Highlands bringing together graduate students and scholars from around the world to discuss the works of Immanuel Kant and another prominent philosopher. In 2026, we will discuss Kant and Hegel's Philosophy of Law.

The Reading Party involves a combination of discussion sessions, which are based on pre-circulated readings, and papers given by graduate students and early-career scholars. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend to their own work and engage in leisure activities in The Burn’s many indoor and outdoor facilities. In addition, there will be one or more hiking parties in the surrounding area.

The Theme:

In the Doctrine of Right and in other writings, Kant tries to give an account of a legal system that is valid according to the principles of pure practical reason. For Kant, the philosophy of right, as opposed to ethics, concerns the actualisation of the free will in the world. His Universal Principle of Right states that “Any action is right if it can coexist with everyone’s freedom in accordance with a universal law.” (6:230) From this principle, Kant derives a rich system of rights, not guaranteed in a state of nature, that must be secured by entering into the civil condition. Hegel raises a number of objections to the way Kant goes about arguing for his system of rights and to Kant’s practical philosophy more generally. Most famously, Hegel’s empty formalism objection states that a formal principle cannot furnish determinate duties or obligations. As regards the sphere of right, Hegel argues that the rationality of a legal system cannot be established by applying a formal principle from the outside but must be understood as already existing within the Sittlichkeit, or ethical life, of an actual community. At the reading party this year we will consider how these different methodological approaches bear on the four following questions:

1. What makes a state morally valid and necessary?

2. On what grounds can property rights be claimed?

3. What is the philosophical basis for criminal punishment?

4. What are the foundations of international law, and what principles should govern the relation between states?

Registration Process

We invite registration for participation from all interested parties. Participation does not require the presentation of a paper. Since the number of places is limited, the registration process will be divided into two steps:

(1)   Informal registration: please register with us your intent to participate as early as possible by sending an email including your name and institutional affiliation, and a brief expression of interest (2-3 lines) to Peter Moser ([email protected]) by the 1st of June. 

(2)   Payment: selected participants will be given instructions on how to make the online fee payment. This will count as formal registration.

Acknowledgements

The St Andrews Kant Reading Party 2026 is brought to you with generous support from the Department of Philosophy at the University of St Andrews, the St Andrews Centre for Philosophy and Public Affairs, the MIND Association, the UK Kant Society, and the Scots Philosophical Association.