Immanuel Kant and Maria von Herbert

In August 1791, a young woman from Carinthia in southern Austria writes to Immanuel Kant to ask his advice. She has offended a dear friend of hers by a "protracted lie”, now revealed to him rather late in the day. As a result, his love for her has vanished. What is she to do? In this seminar, we shall discuss the initial letter, Kant’s reply, Maria von Herberts two further letters and other materials surrounding this extraordinary story. They touch on topics like lying and reticence, the role of experts in ethics, love and friendship, suicide, faith and the meaning of life. Prof. Timmermann will give a brief introductory lecture on the elements of Kant’s moral philosophy that underpin the exchange.

Jens Timmermann is Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of St Andrews (external link). Among his publications are Kant’s will at the crossroads: an essay on the failings of practical rationality (Oxford University Press, 2022), Kant's groundwork of the metaphysics of morals: A commentary  (Cambridge University Press, 2007), and Kant and the Supposed Right to Lie (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming).

If you're interested in reading the correspondence between Maria von Herbert and Immanuel Kant (draft of a translation from German into English), you can contact Anita Leirfall (anita.leirfrall@uib.no) and she will send you the file via email.