Second Lecture |

Prof. Pini Ifergan, Bar-Ilan University; The Spinoza Center at The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute

In recent years we have witnessed a lively discussion of the reception of Kant’s philosophy among his critics who do not come from the context of the Western culture from which he sprang and in which he was active, but rather from other cultural contexts that view Western culture primarily as an expression of oppression and a sense of supremacy. What is surprising about this reception is that it does not negate Kant entirely as a clear expression of that culture, but rather seeks to combine a critique of him with a radicalization of his stance. In this lecture we will seek to understand the case of the reception of Black thought that examines Kant’s attitude toward matters of race but at the same time sees a rereading of Kant as an opportunity to extract a moral stance that remains with Kant while going beyond the limitations of that position, which was rooted in the cultural context of White Western man.

In celebration of Immanuel Kant's 300th birthday

The 14th Series of The Spinoza Center

Produced by Prof. Pini Ifergan, Dr. Dror Yinon

This year, 2024, is the 300^th birthday of Immanuel Kant, one of the greatest philosophers of the modern era and of Western philosophy in general. It is hard to find an intellectual discipline or an aspect of modern daily life untouched by Kant’s philosophy: the place of human beings in the world and the rational imperatives that bind them shape their scientific activity, moral consciousness, and aesthetic appreciation of the natural environment and the art they create. Kant, perhaps more than any other philosopher, is identified with the Enlightenment, and alongside it has been subject in recent years to reexamination and sharp criticism of its failures, as its problematic aspects are exposed along with disappointment over its unrealized promises of progress, of a steady march toward the improvement of humankind.

As in many places worldwide, the Spinoza Center at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute will mark the event with a series of lectures on various aspects of Kant’s philosophy that may enrich thinking about current social and political issues.