Kant’s Philosophy Today
About the event series
From September to November 2024, the Goethe-Institut London hosted an event series in cooperation with the Institute of Philosophy - School of Advanced Study (University of London), to commemorate 300 years since the birth of German philosopher Immanuel Kant.
Each of the three moderated discussions brought together a panel of experts to explore Kant’s theories of knowledge, ethics, and aesthetics in relation to contemporary pressing issues.
Aimed to make Kantian philosophy accessible to the general public, the lecture sessions sought to answer two central questions: Why has interest in Kant persisted? And can his ideas truly help us think through some of today’s most urgent problems?
All lectures were curated and chaired by Stephen Howard, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow in Philosophy at KU Leuven, Belgium, and a Fellow at FRIAS, Universität Freiburg, Germany.
Lecture | Session 1: What Can We Know? Humility, Empowerment, and Hope
Kant’s major work in theoretical philosophy, the Critique of Pure Reason (1781), investigated the extent and limitations of human knowledge. Three experts introduced Kant’s rich and complex theory of knowledge, considering its relevance for current debates on topics such as objectivity, expert testimony, science, and disagreement.
Guest speakers: Professor of Philosophy in the University of Oxford’s Faculty of Philosophy, Anil Gomes, Reader in Philosophy at King’s College London, Jessica Leech, and Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Southampton, Andrew Stephenson.
Lecture I Session 2: The Ethics of the Climate Crisis
Kant developed a hugely influential moral philosophy, centred on what he called the ‘categorical imperative.’ Critics, however, argued that Kantian ethics neglected the specificities of everyday ethical problems. Two experts explored this topic with reference to one of the most pressing issues of the present day: the new ethical challenges produced by the climate crisis.
Guest speakers: Senior Lecturer in Ethics at the University of Bristol, Martin Sticker, and Researcher at the Ruhr-University of Bochum, Ewa Wyrębska.
Lecture I Session 3: Aesthetics and Contemporary Art
Kant was considered one of the founders of aesthetics, the study of art. However, his central concepts, such as beauty and disinterested contemplation, appeared far removed from contemporary conceptual and politicised art. Two experts discussed whether and how Kant’s aesthetics could help audiences engage with contemporary art.
Guest speakers: Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick, Diarmuid Costello, and Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Essex, Fiona Hughes.
Project responsibilities:
Communications, editorial content curation and web production
For this event series, I oversaw the full digital production process in my capacity as the manager of the Goethe-Institut UK’s editorial content. I revised all information and promotional texts and provided strategic guidance on the visual materials created in Canva by the commissioned designer. As manager of the Goethe-Institut UK website, I was responsible for building and updating dedicated event pages using our custom CMS.
As a Communications team member responsible for the Goethe-Institut London’s social media channels, I worked closely with internal and external stakeholders to schedule and publish promotional posts, source social media handles for guest universities and speakers, and ensure consistent messaging across all platforms.
Using analytics tools such as Webtrekk, I monitored and reported on digital engagement metrics, and regularly shared Eventbrite ticket sales figures with internal stakeholders. Working to target sales timelines provided, I made strategic budget decisions - including investing in boosted posts via Meta Ads Manager - to maximise reach and engagement when sales were behind schedule.
You can find the websites I built and the digital marketing materials I co-produced and published below.