The Concept of Drive in Classical German Philosophy:
Between Biology, Anthropology, and Metaphysics

LMU Munich, October 11th and 12th, 2019

Organized by Dr. Manja Kisner and Dr. Jörg Noller

The concept of drive plays a crucial role in Classical German Philosophy for the foundation of theoretical as well as practical philosophy. Moreover, the concept of drive becomes essential in this period not only for philosophy, but also for other areas such as biology, anthropology, and psychology. As such, this concept facilitates new ways to describe nature and to define humans not only as merely natural, but also as cultural and moral beings that possess freedom. In this way, the idealist concept of drive brings together various philosophical traditions such as empiricism, rationalism, and the Enlightenment. The focus of the conference is thus both historical and systematic. Its aim is to portray, reconstruct and discuss the development of the concept of drive from Kant and Herder to Fichte, Schelling and Hegel for the first time. Accordingly, the following questions will be of particular interest:

• What systematic, epistemological, aesthetic and educational functions does the concept of drive fulfill?
• To what extent does the concept of drive bridge the gap between theoretical and practical philosophy? To what extent does the concept of drive connect philosophy, biology, and anthropology?
• To what extent does the idealist concept of drive do justice to the phenomenon of life? In what way is still of systematic relevance?

The conference is kindly supported by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation