NNGI conference in Helsinki
Objective Spirit. Beyond recognition?
A NNGI conference
Helsinki, 30/10/2009 – 1/11/2009
Department of philosophy, University of Helsinki
One of the most important areas of interest of German idealist thinkers – and in particular of Hegel and Fichte – was the objective spirit, encompassing social and political philosophy and the philosophy of history. Some of the most important debates in social and political philosophy at the 20th century can be traced back to the question whether the objective spirit should be interpreted in a social or in a political framework. Is it enough to define the “social” through recognition? Or are there social phenomena (or phenomena of being-in-common) that recognition cannot seize, and that lay “beyond recognition”? If it is so, is this an accidental injustice that can be abolished, or an irreducible factor of human coexistence? And should the “political” be defined as the irruption of something that is denied recognition? Is it better to think politics as conflict or as consensus? What are the ources of the political in today’s world? These are some of the themes that motivate the conference “The Objective Spirit. Beyond Recognition?”
The Nordic Network for German Idealism (NNGI) is a three-year research project funded by Nordforsk (the Nordic Research Board operating under the Nordic Council of ministers). The project organizes international conferences aiming at top-level esearch exchange and at research training for doctoral students from all of the five nordic countries. The project welcomes all research on German idealist philosophy, not only on Hegel, Fichte and Schelling but also on their heritage from Kierkegaard until today’s philosophy. The project’s more specific focus is to evaluate a central idea of German idealism, “die Geisteswissenschaften“, in today’s context.
The conference is free and open to all. No registration is required.
To see the full conference program (as a pdf file) click here.