Lectures in Intellectual History Avi Lifschitz (Oxford) - “Holding the Monarch to Account: Frederick the Great’s Writings in the Public Sphere”
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Jul 6, 2026 Avi Lifschitz, Professor of Intellectual History at Oxford and Enlightenment scholar, explores Frederick the Great’s paradoxical role as absolute ruler and public philosopher. He traces how Frederick’s writings provoked debate, invited criticism, and made the monarch publicly accountable. Topics include pamphlets, Kant’s response, the Miller-Arnold affair, legal reform, toleration, and how public discussion constrained royal power.
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Monarch As Public Author
- Frederick the Great's prolific private writings became a public political resource that constrained his actions by making his principles widely known.
- He cultivated a public authorial persona in French and used print to assert ideals like monarchal accountability and toleration.
Print Debate Replaces Institutional Checks
- Frederick reframed the uncontrollable print market as an informal check on royal power, valuing public debate over formal institutional restraints.
- Late-career essays (1777–1780) presented free discussion as a way the sovereign could be held to account by subjects.
Kant Borrowed Frederick's Maxim
- Kant quoted Frederick's phrase about rulers not supervising subjects' religious writings when composing What Is Enlightenment in 1784.
- Kant used Frederick's 1780 essay on German literature to publicly hold the king to his own professed principles.
