Topic: Overcoming spaces of thought - Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
Speaker: Prof. Dr. phil. habil. Ilse Nagelschmidt, Germanist, University of Leipzig, Honorary President of the Free German Authors' Association
Time: Friday, December 5, 2025, 3:00 p.m.
Place: TU Ilmenau, Faradaybau (new building), Faradayhörsaal, access and parking lot from Prof.-Schmidt-Straße
Admission: 5 Euro
Reason, action, responsibility - these terms can be used to describe the life's work of the philosopher and professor of logic and metaphysics Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804. His sentence "Have the courage to use your own intellect" has become both a guideline and an incentive for enlightened people since the 18th century, who had to and were finally able to free themselves from the shackles of intellectual dependence. With his call for courage and freedom for self-determination, he made it possible for the thinking individual to give himself the law of action based on reason. Throughout his life, it was important to Kant to call on people to be truthful and honest. He is regarded as the advocate of a rational world.
In her lecture at the TU Ilmenau Citizens' Campus, Professor Ilse Nagelschmidt, who held the Chair of Modern German Literature at the University of Leipzig until her retirement in 2020, will introduce the philosopher Immanuel Kant. Immanuel Kant as a person who never left the Prussian city of Königsberg - yet life in his hometown with its many encounters and conversations gave him significant impetus. Professor Ilse Nagelschmidt will also focus on, Honorary President of the Free German Authors' Association, focuses on Kant's exploration of the categorical imperative and his ideas on freedom and autonomy. She concludes by examining the significance of these teachings for today.
