Continental Philosophy Group Talk (Robert Stern, University of Sheffield)

The group welcomes Robert Stern, professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield. Professor Stern’s main interests in the history of philosophy are 19th-century post-Kantian German philosophy, especially Hegel. In contemporary philosophy, he focuses on epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy. His current work centres around the Danish philosopher and theologian K. E. Løgstrup, as well as around Martin Luther viewed from a philosophical perspective. His most recent publications include The Radical Demand in Løgstrup’s Ethics (OUP, 2019), Kantian Ethics: Value, Agency, and Obligation (OUP, 2015), and Understanding Moral Obligation: Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard (CUP, 2012).

Talk Title

“Hegel, Luther and Freedom”.

The paper will consider the relation between Hegel and Luther, focusing on the issue of freedom. Hegel expressed his commitment to Lutheranism on several occasions, and gives the Lutheran Reformation a prominent place in his philosophy of history. This paper will focus on four aspects of Hegel?s view of freedom, and trace their connection back to a Lutheran influence: freedom as reconciliation; as passivity; as grace; and as necessity. It will be suggested that we should take Luther to be as important to Hegel on this issue as other more familiar figures, such as Kant.

A workshop on The Radical Demand in Løgstrup’s Ethics with the author will be available on Friday, September 20, 2019, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon.

A talk title and an abstract for Professor Stern’s lecture will be added to this page at a time closer to the event.

About the Continental Philosophy Group

One of five departmental research interest groups, the Continental Philosophy Group works in the traditions of textual interpretation of human consciousness, phenomenology, and post-structuralist critical theory, among other related traditions of thought.