Lato, Violetta

Home university and country
Boston College, United States

Short vita

Violetta Lato is a PhD candidate in Philosophy at Boston College. Her research focuses on the history of early modern philosophy, with particular emphasis on Immanuel Kant’s theoretical philosophy and the German Enlightenment. Her doctoral dissertation investigates the controversy between Kant and Johann August Eberhard, with particular attention to the interpretation of the principle of sufficient reason, the concept of the simple, the nature of space and time, and the distinction between analytic and synthetic judgments. Her work combines historical-philosophical analysis with original translations of previously untranslated texts.

Year of study 
4th year of PhD in Philosophy

Scientific positions or activities
PhD Candidate in Philosophy, Boston College

Duration of the Dr. phil. Fritz Wiedemann scholarship 
9 May 2026 –9 August 2026

Research project
Contested Legacies: Eberhard, Kant, and the Leibnizian Tradition in Late Eighteenth-Century Halle

This project investigates the philosophical controversy between Johann August Eberhard and Immanuel Kant within the broader context of the Leibnizian tradition in late eighteenth-century Germany. While previous scholarship has primarily focused on Kant’s position, this study aims to provide a more balanced account by reconstructing Eberhard’s philosophical framework through close textual analysis and translation of his writings. The project challenges the common interpretation of the controversy as a simple opposition between metaphysics and epistemology, arguing instead that Kant’s critical philosophy cannot be reduced to a theory of knowledge, nor equated with Wolffian school metaphysics.

The research focuses on four key issues: the principle of sufficient reason, the concept of the simple, the nature of space and time, and the distinction between analytic and synthetic judgments. During the research stay in Halle, particular attention will be given to archival and bibliographical work, including the study of Eberhard’s correspondence, journal practices, and sources. The project also aims to advance one core chapter of the dissertation, contributing to a deeper understanding of the philosophical stakes of the Kant–Eberhard debate and its significance for the reception of Leibniz.