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Рецензии и форуми
SECOND KANT READINGS 2026: KANT AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF VIRTUALISTIC TRANSCENDENTALISM
https://doi.org/10.53656/phil2026-02-09
On April 20, 2026, at South-West University “Neofit Rilski”, the Department of “Philosophical and Political Sciences” and the “Centre for German Idealism” at the Faculty of Philosophy organized the Second Kant Readings: “Kant and the Philosophy of Virtualistic Transcendentalism”. The academic conference was dedicated to Professor Valentin Kanawrow, Dsc. and his seminal contributions to the advancement of Kantian philosophy in Bulgaria. A leading focus was the establishment of scientific and research space for the discussion of the ideas of Kant and Kanawrow.
Valentin Kanawrow’s virtualistic transcendentalism offers an innovative interpretation and further develops Kant’s metaphysics of cognition through the concept of virtuality. It presents an original reinterpretation of Kant’s philosophy, culminating in the formulation of a systematic ontology of spirituality. Virtualistic transcendentalism is predicated on the metaphysical elevation of the a priori pure form of thought and delineates the very essence of the virtual. This philosophy constitutes a novel form of criticism that transcends the primary ontological value of the virtual and focuses entirely on its transcendental cognitive significance. The concept of virtualistic transcendentalism is theorized as a critical metaphysics of cognition, which activates potential synthesis as a force in the transition between the a priori and the a posteriori, between pure knowledge and ontology. In this heuristic extension of Kant’s philosophy, a critical point is also revealed: the metaphysicalization of schematism. In Kant’s purely functional mechanism, schematism becomes constitutive of the regions of experience in Kanawrow.
The academic forum brought together leading scholars in the fields of Kantian studies, German classical philosophy, and contemporary philosophy, from New Bulgarian University, the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, and South-West University “Neofit Rilski”. The thematic scope was broad and encompassed major areas and elements of both critical philosophy and the virtualistic-theorized metaphysics of cognition, such as the ontology of the virtual, Kantian schematism, aesthetic apriorism, the methodological potential of virtualistic transcendentalism, and its application to contemporary issues.
Subsequent to the official initiation of the conference, Professor Kanawrow delivered a concise presentation in which he delineated the fundamental principles and findings of the philosophy of virtualistic transcendentalism. Beginning with the question of what philosophy is, he argued for a heuristic and non-conservative continuation of Kant’s philosophy, which he calls virtualistic transcendentalism. In his presentation, Professor Boyan Manchev, DSc. from New Bulgarian University explored the potential of virtualistic transcendentalism as it relates to Gilles Deleuze’s ontologization of the virtual. According to him, the concept of essential realization of transcendental synthesis (devirtualization in Kanawrow) exhibits typological affinities with the endeavor of attaining the genesis of real experience (in Deleuze). The intertwining of concepts herein contributes to greater clarity regarding the future of transcendental philosophy. Professor Nonka Bogomilova, DSc. from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences delineated the two forms of religion/faith in Kant’s thought within the context of pragmatic anthropology. The primary objective of her presentation was to expound on Kant’s contentions regarding the merits of philosophy in comparison to religion. Professor Ivan Kolev, PhD of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” delivered a presentation entitled “Kant’s Philosophy of Music in Theses and Resonances”. The author posited that the methodological potency of the idea of “transcendental schematizations as a mediating conduit to the pluralistic lifeworld” (in V. Kanawrow’s pentalogy) can be applied to our comprehension of music. Associate Professor Miroslav Bachev, PhD from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, made note of the hypothesis proposed by Perry Schmidt-Leukel and the concept of religious pluralism. The German theologian’s anti-dogmatic and interreligious concept is predicated on the notion of the fractal structure of religious experience. Bachev interpreted this concept as a critical extension of Kant’s philosophy over religious studies. “Valentin Kanawrow’s Virtualism in Relation to Metaphor as a Phenomenon” was discussed by Assoc. Professor Kristian Enchev, PhD also from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Enchev problematized the critical reading of the virtual in Kanawrow as a “constitutive mode of being itself” and the status of metaphor as a phenomenon of virtualization; metaphor as a mediator between the virtual and critical ontologies.
The discussion centered on the status of the category of “reality” in Kant, Deleuze, and Kanawrow, and the possibility of its explanatory interpretation. The discussion also addressed the human need to create a world, a task in which humans are predestined to act as Imago Dei.
The second session of the academic conference commenced with a presentation by Assoc. Prof. Silviya Kristeva, PhD from the Faculty of Philosophy at SouthWest University “Neofit Rilski”. She presented Kant’s analysis of the faculty of judgment through the lens of virtualistic transcendentalism. The subsequent participant, Assoc. Prof. Sylvia Borissova, PhD from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, examined the possibility of aesthetic apriorism and its systematization and typology. The analysis of the conditions and possibility of aesthetic apriorism in Kant was conducted in parallel with references to Dufren, Scheler, and Kanawrow. One of the primary organizers of the Second Kant Readings, Assoc. Prof. Ivaylo Dimitrov, PhD from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology and South-West University “Neofit Rilski” investigated the potential for integrating the concept of virtualistic transcendentalism with the metaphysics of faculties. Chief Assist. Prof. Yasen Andreev, PhD of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology examined Kant’s understanding of the “idea”, the “representation”, and the “concept”. The objective of his paper was to elucidate the implications of Kant’s critique of the “unacceptable” conceptual disorder in modern European thought. Chief Assist. Prof. Nevena Krumova, PhD from the Faculty of Philosophy at South-West University “Neofit Rilski” delivered the concluding remarks in the second session, offering a transcendental-phenomenological interpretation of the character Hans Castorp from Thomas Mann’s “The Magic Mountain”.
The discussion encompassed two primary areas. First, it provided a conceptual clarification of fundamental terms in Kantian philosophy. Second, it examined the transcendental phenomena of the a priori-a posteriori portal.
The third session commenced with a presentation by Chief Assist. Prof. Ivo Minkov, PhD from the Faculty of Philosophy at South-West University “Neofit Rilski”. He delineated the pivotal parameters of virtualistic transcendentalism, conceptualized as the foundational framework for the genesis and evolution of the contemporary digital Logos regarding the possibility of transcendental mathematics. The final three presentations were delivered by PhD students. Assistant Prof. Hristo Pisarov from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology (Department of “Culture, Aesthetics, and Values”) has proposed a thought-provoking topic that explores the possibility of a reasoned derivation (in the spirit of virtualistic transcendentalism) of three new phenomena – “symbol”, “history”, and “mode” – that enrich the ontological wholeness of the human being. Alexander Popov, a PhD student in the Faculty of Philosophy at South-West Univeristy “Neofit Rilski” explored Kant’s transcendental power/faculty of judgment and its potential for constituting virtual subjectivity. At the conclusion of the conference, Kant’s transcendental schematism was examined by Asan Kadiev, a PhD student in the Faculty of Philosophy at South-West Univeristy “Neofit Rilski”, as a mediator between sensibility and understanding in the context of virtualistic metaphysics of cognition.
The final discussion emphasized the potential of the virtualistic transcendentalism program and its powerful methodological heuristics and applicability. The emphasis of the conference was on the dissemination of Prof. Kanawrow’s philosophy and the translation of his pentalogy on critical metaphysics into English language. The organizers further proposed the publication of an anthology, representing a comprehensive collection of the conference’s thoughtful ideas and discussions.