Assistant Professor Michael Gregory has been awarded a prestigious Humboldt Fellowship to advance the conversation around one of Germany’s most influential philosophers: Immanuel Kant.
Sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the fellowship brings scholars in the arts, humanities and sciences from around the globe to research in Germany.
Widely considered one of the leading minds of the Enlightenment, Kant championed the concept of transcendental idealism. Gregory, a member of Clemson’s Department of Philosophy & Religion, will continue his project titled “Kantian Democracy: Between Reason and Representation.”
“In democratic theory, we have this distinction between substantive and procedural ideas of democracy,” Gregory said. He explained that the substantive view of democracy sees democratic governance as good only when it leads to beneficial outcomes, while the procedural idea is concerned with ensuring that the will of the people guides the government.
“Kant seems to refuse to make a choice between those two things and says that, actually, what grounds legitimacy is an ongoing negotiation between procedural norms and substantive norms,” Gregory said. His writing on Kant will push back on the notion that the philosopher steered toward an “enlightened monarchy.”
“For an American philosopher to get this award for a Kant project is practically unheard of.”
During his two-year fellowship, Gregory will work with the Kant Research Center in Mainz, Germany, reviewing original manuscripts, collaborating with German researchers and participating in conferences to advance the conversation around Kant’s work.
“Our idea is to try and bring Kant out of the 18th century into contemporary conversations in democratic theory,” he said.
Nicholas Vazsonyi, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, whose own research specialty is in German literature and culture, celebrated Gregory’s achievement.
“This is an auspicious day for Clemson Humanities,” Vazsonyi said. “A Humboldt is on par with the most prestigious U.S. fellowships, and for an American philosopher to get this award for a Kant project is practically unheard of.”
About the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Founded in 1953, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation sponsors scientists and scholars, irrespective of academic discipline and nationality. It strengthens Germany as a research location through international research exchanges. It supports sponsorship recipients during their entire lifetimes and actively promotes international understanding, scientific progress and development. The Foundation maintains an interdisciplinary network of well over 30,000 Humboldtians in more than 140 countries around the world, including 63 Nobel Prize winners.
