The Journal “Verifiche” will publish a special issue devoted to the topic ‘Reason in Check. Philosophy of Religion in Classical German Philosophy’. We welcome contributions that investigate philosophy of religion in its historical and systematic development in classical German philosophy, with a specific focus on the models of rationality that are still relevant in contemporary debates on philosophy of religion.

Rationale of the Issue

The special issue aims to investigate the crucial role to be ascribed to philosophy of religion in the context of classical German philosophy. Philosophy of religion proves to be the locus to discuss the relationship between the finite and the infinite, the concept of the absolute, and of our community-oriented nature. Thus, philosophy of religion succeeds in disclosing paramount conceptual resources to address thinking and action at once, so as to elaborate new models of rationality and, through those models, to meet the challenges of epochs of crisis. The purpose of this issue of Verifiche is, in other words, understanding to what extent philosophy of religion in classical German philosophy goes hand in hand with the configuration of new models of rationality and agency which in turn enable a critical, fundamental reassessment of reason and freedom. While it is not hard to see how all philosophical efforts by the representatives of classical German philosophy strive towards the determination of these two terms, one can reasonably argue that questioning reason and redefining the meaning of free action lie at the origin of the most diverse philosophical projects: transcendental philosophy, non-philosophy, speculative philosophy, positive philosophy, among others. In this sense, philosophy of religion turns out to be the prismatic centre of a constellation of instances that closely addresses topics of epistemology, ontology, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, and philosophy of history, to the point of radically questioning the concept of philosophy itself, as well as its means, aims, and methods.
The rationale for the issue is thus the conviction that philosophy of religion, once considered at the crossroads of these pivotal instances, represents a privileged place to deal with the questions that are at stake between the late 18th and the early 19th Centuries: theoretical, practical, aesthetic as well as historical-political. It is precisely these questions that force us to assume a critical attitude towards the challenges for present-day philosophy of religion. The issue of Verifiche intends to tackle these questions and to highlight the critical potential of philosophy of religion as shaped in the context of classical German philosophy, assuming a historical and systematic lens.

In particular, the volume aims to address the following topics:

1. Reason and freedom in the philosophy of religion of Kant, Jacobi, Reinhold, Fichte, Hölderlin, Schleiermacher, Hegel, and Schelling (among others):
   the idea of God and the absolute
   ● freedom of the finite and freedom of the infinite: human being, God, absolute
   ● religion and morality: mutual relationship and irreducibility
   ● subjectivity, community, and Bildung in philosophy of religion intersecting with anthropology and philosophy of history
   ● rationality, historicity, and the critique to positivity
2. Philosophy of religion and the method of philosophy:
   the meta-philosophical dimension of philosophy of religion for philosophy as a science
   ● philosophy of religion as a discipline: philosophy after the crisis of ontotheology
   ● the status of philosophy of religion between classical German philosophy and contemporary debates concerning philosophy of religion
3. Actualisations of classical German philosophy in the models of philosophy of religion developed within the contemporary debate:
   philosophy of religion in the metaphysical and post-metaphysical frameworks
   ● the subjective, intersubjective, and dialogical dimensions of the religious experience in the phenomenology of religion
   ● demonstrative reason in the analytic philosophy of religion
   ● absolute and normativity in political theology

Manuscripts must be no longer than 50.000 characters. Papers can be in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Before sending your contribution, please consider the Guidelines for authors and this sample.

Full papers should be received by June 30th, 2023.

The review process is double-blind, and reviewers are selected by the Editors. Notifications regarding acceptance will be made via email. The Manuscript file should be fully anonymized for blind review. Email a copy of your paper, as an attachment, in Microsoft Word (.doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf), or Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf) to the editors: Barbara Santini (barbara.santini@unipd.it) and Giulia Bernard (giulia.bernard@unipd.it).

Please include the following information:
(1) Paper’s title
(2) Author’s name
(3) Short biography (affiliation, research interests, recent publications, etc.)
(4) Author’s email address