The Milan Seminar in the History of Modern Moral Philosophy
The Milan Seminar in the History of Modern Moral Philosophy is a regular event series covering topics in the history of moral philosophy from the 17th to the 19th centuries, with a special focus on the 18th century.
The Seminar is a part of the ERC-funded project 18ETHICS: Ethics and Moral Life in the Eighteenth Century, led by Stefano Bacin and hosted by the Department of Philosophy at the University of Milan.
2026 CALENDAR
February 20: Paul Guyer (Brown): A Supposed Right to Lie: Kant and Hutcheson.
March 20: Thomas Ahnert (Edinburgh) – Conflict and the State in Pufendorf’s Moral and Political Thought
April 10: Aaron Garrett (Boston) – Modern Moral Philosophy [An overview of his current book project]
May 15: Lauren Kopajtic (Fordham) – From Sentiment to Sentimentality: The Contentious Relationship between Philosophical and Popular Sentimentalism
June 19: Book Launch – Francis Hutchesons’ A System of Moral Philosophy (Liberty Fund, 2025), with editors Knud Haakonssen and Christian Maurer, and discussion from Dale Dorsey (Oxford)
Information
The Seminar’s events take place online via Microsoft Teams on Fridays from 15:00–17:00, unless otherwise noted. To participate, please contact the organizers to receive the Teams link at 18ethics@unimi.it.
Organized by Stefano Bacin and Michael Walschots
Call for Papers
While the majority of speakers are invited, individuals interested in presenting a paper as part of the seminar should contact the organizers at 18ethics@unimi.it with an abstract for an approx. 45-minute-long talk, as well as a brief bio.
We especially encourage PhD students and early career researchers to submit.
*Videos of previous talks are available on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@18ETHICS
Previous Talks
October 3, 2025: Stephen Darwall (Yale): “Modern Moral Philosophy” and Modern Moral Philosophy.
November 14, 2025: Jacqueline Taylor (San Francisco): Hume on Modesty, Esteem and Self-Esteem, with some insights from Wollstonecraft.
December 5, 2025: Ryan Patrick Hanley (Boston College): Love and Disinterestedness in Hutcheson’s Inquiry.
January 16, 2026: Ruth Boeker (University College Dublin): Education and Moral Development in Women’s Philosophical Writings of the Eighteenth Century.