Dr. Elaine Miller will present In Goethe's Garden: Revisiting the Reflective Judgement 'Problem' in Hegel on Nov. 21, 2025. This event will be hosted in LAW 395 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Abstract: This talk aims to shed new light on Hegel’s appropriation of themes in Kant’s Third Critique for his own speculative philosophy. Specifically, I will argue that we must think beyond the intuitive intellect to Hegel’s reading of Kant’s concept of reflective judgment, both aesthetic and teleological. Moreover, I will argue that Hegel was excited by the possibility, opened up through reading Goethe’s studies of the metamorphoses of plants and visiting the garden Goethe designed in order to give it empirical backing, of experiencing the Idea in nature.