Jena, May 21, 2026 – What would an encounter between the two most significant thinkers of their era, Immanuel Kant and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, have looked like? Prof. Dr. Eckart Förster will address this fascinating question in a public lecture on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in the main building of the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena.
- What: Lecture “Kant and Goethe: a Dialogue” (Goethe Lecture / Summer Course 2026)
- When: Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- Where: Universitätshauptgebäude, Hörsaal 235, Fürstengraben 1, 07743 Jena
- Speaker: Prof. Dr. Eckart Förster (Johns Hopkins University / HU Berlin)
- Moderation: Dr. Helmut Hühn (FSU Jena)
- Admission: Public and free of charge (not barrier-free)
- Further links: Summer Course 2026 and Goethe Research Center
A Fictional Encounter of Two Intellectual Worlds
The real conversation between Goethe and Friedrich Schiller in 1794 in Jena regarding the concept of the “Urpflanze” (primordial plant) is considered a legendary turning point in German intellectual history. But how would a corresponding exchange between Goethe and Immanuel Kant have unfolded, had they ever met in person?
The idea holds a special appeal, as philosophically the two were largely antipodes: what Goethe considered the “highest” in the knowledge of nature, Kant occasionally dismissed in his writings as a mere “whim” or an inadmissible “figment of the imagination.” Nevertheless, both represented the most brilliant minds of their opposing positions. The lecture by Prof. Dr. Eckart Förster attempts to design a dialogue in which both thinkers exchange their strongest arguments and try to convince the other of their own worldview.
Internationally Renowned Guest Speaker in Jena
With Eckart Förster, an internationally respected expert on the philosophy of German Idealism comes to Jena. Following his time as a full professor at the LMU München, Förster taught from 2003 until his retirement in 2021 as Professor of Philosophy, German, and the Humanities at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. His academic career is complemented by positions in Oxford, Harvard, and Stanford, as well as an honorary professorship at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
The event is part of the Summer Course 2026 titled “Does Reason Have Limits? On the Philosophical Change of Concepts in Germany around 1800,” a cooperation between the Klassik Stiftung Weimar and the Center for Romanticism Research at the FSU Jena.
Background: Jena around 1800 as the Epicenter of Philosophy
The choice of Jena for this fictional dialogue directly links to the illustrious history of the city on the Saale. Around the year 1800, Jena was the undisputed center of German Idealism and Early Romanticism. Thinkers such as Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel taught at the local university, while the Schlegel brothers revolutionized literature from Jena. The critical engagement with Kant’s philosophy formed the foundation upon which modern philosophy was re-established in Jena – always in a field of tension and close exchange with classical Weimar.
Source:
Kant and Goethe: a Dialogue
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