"The project aims to reconstruct the emergence of a new conception of practical reason in Kant’s work and to shed light on its philosophical meaning. Although the notion of the practical reason still holds a significance in the contemporary debate in moral philosophy, Kant’s innovative introduction of the notion in the vocabulary of modern ethics has not been specifically investigated yet. There is no extensive research dealing with the subject combining philosophical analysis and historical reconstruction. First, the work should contextualize Kant’s conception in the framework of the debates in 17th and 18th century concerning the basic assumption of a universally accessible capacity to grasp and apply the fundamental moral distinctions. Kant’s conception should be firstly examined in contrast to the other philosophical options of his time, not only in the German area. Secondly, the work should distinguish different steps of the gradual development of Kant’s position. Kant’s entire corpus must be taken into consideration, from the early writings till the late “Metaphysics of Morals”. Special attention should be paid to his different accounts of moral motivation and their relation with practical rationality. Finally, and most importantly, the inquiry would focus on the often misinterpreted relation between Kant’s idea of practical reason and his conception of human dignity, which still needs a well-grounded critical assessment. The work would combine the different methodologies of the contextual investigation, the internal argumentation analysis, and the historical-genetical reconstruction. This research would be possible in virtue of the applicant’s previous achievements and expertise on Kant’s thought, which is testified by the numerous publications in the field. At the same time, the work would lead him to a significant career development, by allowing him both to broaden the scope of his projects and to further enhance his methodological competencies."