New Perspectives on Neokantianismus and the Sciences
14. bis 17. März 2022
It is undisputed that
Neokantianism plays an important role for the
development of the (German) academic philosophy and,
especially, of the philosophy of science during a
period of dynamic growth within the sciences in
general. This international conference will shed a
fresh light on Neokantian philosophy encompassing an
approximate time period between about 1865 and the
First World War.
It will bring together historians and philosophers of
science working on the Neokantianism and the history of
science in the 19th and 20th century in order to Enfold
the interplay between philosophy and the sciences It
will work in the spirit of an ‛Integrated History and
Philosophy of Science’. This conference is organised by
Helmut Pulte and Jan Baedke (Ruhr University Bochum),
and Gregor Nickel and Daniel Koenig (University of
Siegen).
- March 14-16: 9am - 6pm Beckmanns Hof, Bochum
- March 17: 9am - 5pm Zeche Zollern, Dortmund
Abstract
The great importance of
Neo-Kantianism for German university philosophy in the late
19th and early 20th centuries is undisputed. Equally undisputed
is the considerable influence this direction had on the
formation of philosophy of science in general: Without
Neo-Kantianism, the development of a German-Speaking philosophy
of science up to logical empiricism (Vienna Circle, Berlin
Group) is inconceivable. Moreover, the emigration of most
representatives of this science-oriented tradition in the 1930s
had a considerable influence on the further development of
Anglo-Saxon analytical philosophy. In recent times, not least
for this reason, a strong interest in Neo-Kantianism has
developed worldwide. This interest is not only due to its
mediating role between the older Kantian tradition and
analytical philosophy, but also takes into account its genuine
philosophical achievements in the exchange with the sciences.
The project brings together more than 20 international experts
of Neo-Kantianism as authors of a volume that reveals the
fruitful trade-off relations between the extremely dynamic
development of the sciences in the period from about 1865 to
the first world war on the one hand and the theories of
Neo-Kantianism on the other from the point of view of an
‘Integrated History and Philosophy of Science’. An important
specific aim is to clarify the question of whether and to what
extent a certain modernization process takes place within
Neo-Kantianism, but also within the participating sciences
themselves. The latter are not restricted to mathematics and
physics, which are at the center of earlier investigations, but
include also areas like biology, chemistry and technology as
well as psychology and anthropology. The ‘fact of science’ is
represented in this volume in all its breadth and diversity as
Neo-Kantianism perceived it.
Publication and funding:The volume will be
published by Routledge (London) in 2024. The project was funded
by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung.