Modern Philosophies of the Will

Through Kant, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, this seminar traces the development of the relation between the will and the law as self-given. Topic areas include: the ontological turn in philosophy of the will; from obligation to self-overcoming, to "decision;" the will's playful character and the problem of teleology; the will as principle of morality (Kant), of lifeforms (Nietzsche), and of technology (Heidegger); the formal identity of legislation and transgression of the law.

The seminar traces three "strategies" in the development of the philosophy of will from Kant to Heidegger, viz. rationality and irrationality of the will, the ontological turn, and law.