Kant and the Future

The XII Multilateral Kant Colloquium, entitled Kant and the Future, will take place from 29 June to 2 July 2027 at the University of Turin (Italy).

Founded in 2008 through the collaboration of scholars and institutions from Europe and the Americas, the Multilateral Kant Colloquium is an international, multilingual conference devoted to the study of Kant’s philosophy and its continuing relevance for contemporary philosophical debate.

The theme of the 2027 edition, Kant and the Future, aims to explore the many ways in which Kant’s thought engages with the future and with the prospects of human development. Several dimensions of his philosophy testify to his profound engagement with questions concerning the future and the conditions under which humanity may advance. The concept of progress, for instance, plays a central role in Kant’s account of various aspects of human life and knowledge. His reflections on moral and political progress address the possibility of humanity’s gradual advancement toward more just civil and international conditions, while simultaneously emphasizing the fragility and contingency of such progress. Likewise, Kant employs the notion of progress to describe the historical development of metaphysics itself. Another concept that reveals Kant’s openness to the future is that of orientation, which he employs to identify the role that certain rational assumptions play in guiding moral improvement. Furthermore, with regard to science and knowledge, the importance he assigns to regulative principles and ideas underscores the future-oriented and heuristic function of reason, whose vocation is to guide inquiry toward the continuous expansion and systematic unity of human knowledge.

The Organizing Committee welcomes submissions on any aspect of Kant’s philosophy. A portion of the accepted contributions, however, will be reserved for papers addressing the conference theme, including, but not limited to, the following topics:

--progress in moral, political, legal, and historical philosophy;

---the future of metaphysics;

--orientation and practical reason;

--regulative principles and the heuristic function of reason;

--history, hope, and historical development; teleology and purposiveness;

--education, enlightenment, and human perfectibility;

--peace and conflict;

--climate change;

-Kant’s legacy and contemporary perspectives on the future.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should include: a title; an extended abstract of no more than 500 words (including footnotes and references).

Abstracts must be prepared for anonymous (blind) review. Authors are kindly requested to provide name, academic affiliation and contact information in the body of the submission email.

Important Dates

Submission deadline: 1 January 2027;

Notification of acceptance: 15 February 2027.

Conference Languages

The official languages of the Colloquium are English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and German.

Submission

Please send your abstract, details, and queries to: kantmultilateral2027@gmail.com

Organizers

• Gabriele Gava (University of Turin)

• Sandra V. Palermo (University of Pavia)

Organising Committee

• Giorgia Cecchinato (University of Bologna)

• Serena Feloj (University of Pavia)

• Luca Fonnesu (University of Pavia)

• Claudio La Rocca (University of Genoa)

• João Lemos (University of Turin)

• Paola Rumore (University of Turin)

Conference website: https://sites.google.com/un