The fate of reason

The Enlightenment has been one of the central themes in humanities, and a fundamental problem in philosophy. Discussions on the Enlightenment from Kant to Foucault, both on its narrow sense as an historical event and its broad sense as a process releasing us from the “self-imposed immaturity” (Kant), never lose their touch with reality. On the other hand, the concept of Enlightenment has always played a significant role in Chinese thought and culture. The Enlightenment, therefore, remains a theoretical problem as well as a practical one for contemporary China. Bearing this in mind, the Department of Philosophy and the Institute of Foreign Philosophy at Peking University in China and the Department of Philosophy of Freie Universität Berlin in Germany organized this international conference on the contemporary interpretation of Enlightenment, to provide a platform for scholars from both countries. With contributions by S. Han, W. Schmidt-Biggemann, V. Gerhardt, L. Wenchao, R. Enskat, T.-wan Kwan, F. Vollhardt, J. Yi, C. Bickmann, M. Weimin, H.-G. Pott, S. Xiangchen, W. Schröder, H. Feger, R. Velkley, W. Zengding, W. Jaeschke, H. F. Klemme, G. Yi, G. Zöller, S. Xinjian, J. H. Zammito, M. Castillo, W. Ge, M. Baum, S. Y.-S. Chien, Z. Zhengming, Z. Zhiwei, Z. Dunhua, T. Shijuu, P. X. Quan, J. Stolzenberg, C.-fuk Lau