Events
24–25 September 2026 · Santiago, Chile
Hybrid modality | In person + Zoom
What does it mean to orient oneself in Kant’s teleology beyond natural organisms? Although teleology occupies a central place in the Critique of the Power of Judgment in Kant’s account of organized beings, reflection on purposiveness extends much further across his philosophy: from his writings on nature, providence, and evil to his reflections on history, aesthetics, reason, and the ultimate ends of humanity.
This conference explores these different forms of teleology by attending not only to the objects of teleological judgment, but also to the very structure of rationality. In this context, Kant’s notion of the self-preservation of reason (Selbsterhaltung) raises the question of whether teleology might also express an internal need of reason to orient itself, preserve the grounds of its own judgments, and develop its faculties.
Over two days of collaborative work, researchers from Italy, Germany, the United States, and Chile will come together to discuss different dimensions of Kant’s philosophy, bringing questions of teleology into dialogue with problems concerning nature, reason, history, aesthetics, ethics, and German Idealism.
Simone D’Armi — Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Courtney Fugate — Florida State University
Luigi Filieri — Scuola Normale Superiore
Pablo Genazzano — Universidad Diego Portales
Silvestre Gristina — Università degli Studi di Padova
Martin Obreque — Universidad Diego Portales
Lara Ostaric — Temple University
Luis Placencia — Universidad de Chile
Consuelo de la Torre — Universidad Diego Portales
Agata Vesentini — Università degli Studi di Padova / Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
Organizers: Agata Vesentini (Università degli Studi di Padova / Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) and Martin Obreque — Universidad Diego Portales
Dates: Thursday 24 and Friday 25 September 2026
Time:
09:00–16:00 — Chile (CLT, UTC−3)
14:00–21:00 — Central Europe (CEST, UTC+2)
Format: Hybrid — in person and online via Zoom.
Thursday, 24 September
República 112, Auditorio 1 — Santiago, Chile
Friday, 25 September
República 112, Auditorio 2 — Santiago, Chile
In-person assistance registration: https://forms.gle/JkMf45QhUaMhxfjc7
Online participation:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/Uy1aE6eoTa6kasxvnc3giA
Further information: [email protected]; [email protected]
| Chile Time | Central European Time | Speaker | Presentation |
| 09:00–10:30 | 14:00–15:30 | Courtney Fugate
(Online) |
The Organicity of Reason and Its Implications for Reading the First Critique (Keynote talk) |
| 10:30–10:45 | 15:30–15:45 | Break | |
| 10:45–11:30 | 15:45–16:30 | Luigi Filieri
(Online) |
The Schema of Purposive Causation |
| 11:30–12:15 | 16:30–17:15 | Agata Vesentini | Philosophy’s Cosmic Task: Critique and Teleology in Kant’s Idea of the University |
| 12:30–13:15 | 17:30–18:15 | Consuelo de la Torre | Inner Purposiveness and Reflective Self-Orientation in Kant |
| 13:10–14:30 | 18:10–19:30 | Lunch | |
| 14:30–15:15 | 19:30–20:15 | Silvestre Gristina | Teleological Models of the History of Philosophy: A Comparison Between Transcendental Philosophy and Absolute Idealism |
| Chile Time | Central European Time | Speaker | Presentation |
| 09:00–10:30 | 14:00–15:30 | Lara Ostaric
(Online) |
TBA (Keynote talk) |
| 10:30–10:45 | 15:30–15:45 | Break | |
| 10:45–11:30 | 15:45–16:30 | Simone D’Armi
(Online) |
From Fundamental Force to Regulative Idea: Leibniz, Wolff, and Kant on the Teleology of the Soul |
| 11:30–12:15 | 16:30–17:15 | Pablo Genazzano | Delight in Evil: The Sublime and the Self-Preservation of Reason in Kant |
| 12:30–13:15 | 17:30–18:15 | Martin Obreque
(Online) |
Life and Freedom in Kant’s Critical Philosophy |
| 13:15–14:30 | 18:15–19:30 | Lunch | |
| 14:30–16:00 | 19:30–21:00 | Luis Placencia | Kant. Teleology in History (Keynote talk) |
