University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Oct 8
    Hilldale Lecture: Defining Enlightenment: Kant, Mendelssohn, Arendt

    Liliane Weissberg, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor in Arts and Science emerita and Professor of Francophone, Italian, and Germanic Studies

    Pyle Center Rm 226

    What is Enlightenment?  In 1783  Berlin monthly Berlinische Monatsschrift asked its readers to submit answers to this question, and both Immanuel Kant and Moses Mendelssohn sent essays to the journal. Their submissions, both published in 1784, offered very different responses. In 1933, shortly after Hitler’s rise to power, Hannah Arendt also reflected on Enlightenment. She would implicitly refer to Kant …