Conference Announcement: Kantian Constitutivism

We are pleased to invite you to the conference "Kantian Constitutivism”, to be held at the University of Groningen from June 23rd to June 25th, 2023. The conference aims to bring together researchers working on constitutivism in Kantian metaethics and Kant interpretation.

The event is organized by the research group "Kant, Kantianism, and Morality" (University of Groningen) and supported by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

Constitutivist approaches abound in present-day normative philosophy. An approach can be described as constitutivist if it argues that some entity is subject to a certain norm because that norm is entailed by its very nature—in other words, that to be that sort of entity (at least partly) is to be subject to that norm. Constitutivist approaches in metaethics, broadly construed, aim to account for practical normativity (e.g. the content and authority of moral or prudential norms) by referring to the nature and constitutive principles of fundamental agential or rational capacities.

Although it is a matter of much dispute, Kant is often seen as a constitutivist. Indeed, many prominent constitutivist approaches to practical normativity are to some degree Kant-inspired, and many prominent Kantian ethicists are metaethical constitutivists.

The aim of this conference is to discuss constitutivist approaches in Kantian metaethics and Kant interpretation. Does Kant defend a form of constitutivism? Can the appeal to constitutive norms of reasoning and acting justify a Kantian account of moral principles and moral obligation? Which norms can plausibly be argued to be constitutive of which faculties or activities? How, and how successfully, can Kantian constitutivism respond to the objections raised against it? These are among the questions addressed at this conference.

Speakers:

Carla Bagnoli (University of Modena/University of Oslo)

Vinicius Carvalho (University of Groningen)

Pauline Kleingeld (University of Groningen)

Sasha Mudd (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile / University of Southampton)

Andrews Reath (University of California, Riverside)

Leon van Rijsbergen (University of Groningen)

Tobias Rosefeldt (Humboldt University of Berlin)

Janis Schaab (Human Abilities Research Centre, Berlin)

Karl Schäfer (University of Texas at Austin)

Tamar Schapiro (MIT)

Oliver Sensen (Tulane University)

Jens Timmermann (University of St Andrews)

Organizers:

Vinicius Carvalho (University of Groningen)

Pauline Kleingeld (University of Groningen)

Leon van Rijsbergen (University of Groningen)

Janis Schaab (Human Abilities Research Centre, Berlin)

Information about the program and practical information can be found here.

Attendance is free but registration is required (until June 12th). Please register here. This is planned as an in-person event; unfortunately it is not possible to join remotely.