International conference dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of Immanuel Kant

Dr. Pauls Daija

In 2024, the 300th birthday of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant will be celebrated around the world. In Latvia, this event holds significance not only for developing dialogue between philosophy and other humanities disciplines but also for strengthening connections with our colleagues in the German academic community. Objective of the project is organization of an international conference in which representatives from the Baltic States and Germany will participate. The conference will be organized by the National Library of Latvia and the Faculty of History and Philosophy of the University of Latvia in cooperation with the board of the Kant Society, the editorial board of the Kant-Studien edition and the Kant Research Center in Mainz. The purpose of the conference is to bring together scholars who are interested in Kant’s philosophy and the impact of his work on culture and social change. The conference will focus on three topics: (1) the impact of Kant’s philosophy on the philosophical thought of the 20th century (e.g., the works of Heidegger and Arendt); (2) Use of Kant’s ideas in public discourse today (understanding of the Enlightenment and its significance today); (3) Kant and the Baltics. As is known, the first publications of Kant’s most important works were published in Riga by Hartknoch. Therefore, the connection between Riga and East Prussia, the history of publishing in the German-speaking cultural space will be explored along with the aspects of Kant’s biography related to Lithuania; information about Kant’s students in Courland, Livonia, Estonia; Kant’s lecture notes in the NLL manuscript collection. These topics will significantly complement the events devoted to Kant elsewhere in Germany and the world. The anniversary can serve as a departure point not only for research, but also the networking among Latvian, Estonian, and German researchers, and elevating Baltic presence within the German-speaking academic discourse

Direct target group: scholars of humanities whose interests are related to 18th century philosophy and the history of the  Enlightenment.

Indirect target group: scholars of various fields of humanities; university students; teachers and librarians; members of the public interested in Baltic German history and cultural history of Germany.

Conference program

(In Latvian)