Kant Colloquium UFABC — Prefaces and Introductions

More than mere introductory texts, the prefaces and introductions to Immanuel Kant's works prove to be privileged sites of philosophical elaboration, in which the thinker from Königsberg sets out projects, delimits problems, deploys metaphors, and at times introduces concepts that enter into complex relations with the remainder of his texts. This is the case, for instance, with the prefaces and introductions to the different editions of the Critique of Pure Reason, in which both the critical project and the celebrated metaphor of the "tribunal of reason" are outlined, simultaneously defining the scope and limits of the enquiry; or with the introductions to the Critique of the Power of Judgement, in which the concept of the heautonomy of judgement emerges, positioning this faculty alongside the understanding and reason as bearing a priori principles — even though this notion is not explicitly taken up in the remainder of the work.

With the support of the Research Group in German Philosophy: Method, Critique and Dialectic, the Kant Colloquium UFABC — Prefaces and Introductions invites researchers and students to explore this thought-provoking — and still insufficiently examined in any systematic fashion — dimension of Immanuel Kant's work.

Inspired, among other references, by the volume edited by Eckart Förster, Kant's Transcendental Deductions: The Three 'Critiques' and the 'Opus postumum', the colloquium proposes a space for open dialogue across different approaches, with the aim of investigating how these inaugural texts not only introduce, but also generate tensions within, expand upon, and, in certain cases, displace the very trajectory of Kantian thought. By focusing specifically on these elements, the event puts forward an original research lens, encouraging new readings and interpretations of Kant's work from the standpoint of its textual thresholds. This is, therefore, an opportunity to revisit well-known texts from a new perspective — one attentive to the nuances, inflexions, and possible discontinuities that emerge already at the very opening of these works.

Dates: 10–11 December 2026

Venue: Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo campus, Bloco Zeta, Room 212

Format: Hybrid event

Further information: https://sites.google.com/view/gfaufabc/pr%C3%B3ximos-eventos?authuser=0

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Abstract Submission Guidelines

The organising committee will select submitted papers on the basis of the following criteria:

• Thematic relevance to the subject area and scope of the event
• Academic quality of the work
• Submissions will only be accepted from MA students, MA graduates, doctoral candidates, and doctoral graduates

All abstracts and papers must be submitted in one of the two official languages of the event: Portuguese or English. Only papers presented at the colloquium will be considered for possible publication in the proceedings or as an e-book.

Abstracts of between 200 and 500 words must be submitted exclusively via the following form: https://forms.gle/pUMeRxB79itK4W3n7

Submission deadline: 31 August 2026

Notification of acceptance: by 28 September 2026