Norms of Freedom in Kant & Hegel

For both Kant and Hegel, a human will is fully free only if it appropriately realizes its capacity of practical rationality.  For both philosophers, becoming free requires acts of self-constitution.  But by what means is the self-constitution of a free will possible?  Kant grants that institutions such as education can serve as catalysts to activate what he refers to as our “moral compass.”  Kant does not however hold that experience or education has a part to play in shaping the compass itself.  The inner compass is a law of pure practical reason; its nature is thus not dependent upon contingent historical conditions or institutions.  In contrast, Hegel’s view seems to be that social institutions do more than merely assist the activation of practical reason’s norms or laws; they in addition play a role in the very constitution of those laws (and thus in the constitution of practical reason itself).  This conference explores Kantian and Hegelian perspectives on the constitution of human freedom.

Organizers Sally Sedgwick (UIC)   Thomas Khurana (Goethe University)