12-22-2022, 12:05 AM
Dieter Henrich (5 January 1927 – 17 December 2022) was a German philosopher. A contemporary thinker in the tradition of German idealism, Henrich is considered "one of the most respected and frequently cited philosophers in Germany today," whose "extensive and highly innovative studies of German Idealism and his systematic analyses of subjectivity have significantly impacted on advanced German philosophical and theological debates."[2]
Henrich was born in Marburg,[3] on 5 January 1927,[4] the son of Hans Harry Henrich, who worked in survey service, and his wife Frieda nèe Blum. He grew up as a single child after three siblings died young. His father died when the boy was 11 years old.[4] Henrich achieved the Abitur from the humanistic Gymnasium Philippinum [de] in Marburg in 1946.[4]
Henrich studied philosophy, history and sociology between 1946 and 1950 at Marburg, Frankfurt and Heidelberg.[4] He completed his PhD dissertation at Heidelberg in 1950 under the supervision of Hans-Georg Gadamer.[5] The thesis was Die Einheit der Wissenschaftslehre Max Webers (The unity of Max Weber's epistemology). He wrote his habilitazion in 1956, titled Selbstbewusstsein und Sittlichkeit.[4] Henrich was professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin from 1960 to 1965, at the University of Heidelberg from 1965 to 1981, and at the University of Munich from 1981 to 1994, instructing generations of philosophers in standards of interpreting classical texts.[3] He was also a visiting professor to universities in the United States, such as Harvard and Columbia.[6]
Dieter Henrich's 1973 lecture course on German Idealism introduced to American audiences contemporary currents in German philosophy. His lectures were since then published as Between Kant and Hegel that showed the continuity between German idealism and contemporary philosophical attitudes.[6] Henrich introduced the idea that I-thoughts (what he also called "the epistemic self-relation" [Das wissende Selbstverhältnis]) imply a belief in the existence of a world of objects.[2]
He introduced the term Fichte's original insight[7] (Fichtes ursprüngliche Einsicht) to describe Johann Gottlieb Fichte's idea that the self must already have some prior acquaintance with itself, independent of the act of self-reflection. Henrich noted that Fichte saw the transcendental subject as a primordial selfhood[8] and identified its activity as prior to self-reflection. He also introduced the term Kantian fallacy to describe Immanuel Kant's attempt to ground the self in pure self-reflection, positing the moment of self-reflection as the original source of self-consciousness[9] (see also pre-reflective self-consciousness). His thinking was focused on the mystery of self-consciousness. He pointed out that the evidence of self-consciousness was not really self-evident, but rather obscure, possibly the manifestation of a reason concealed in the clarity of self-consciousness and eluding thought (".. die offenkundige Manifestation eines Grundes, der sich in der Klarheit des Selbstbewußtseins gleichsam verbirgt und dem Denken entzieht").[10]
Henrich died on 17 December at age 95.[3][5][10][11]
From Wikipedia.
Henrich was born in Marburg,[3] on 5 January 1927,[4] the son of Hans Harry Henrich, who worked in survey service, and his wife Frieda nèe Blum. He grew up as a single child after three siblings died young. His father died when the boy was 11 years old.[4] Henrich achieved the Abitur from the humanistic Gymnasium Philippinum [de] in Marburg in 1946.[4]
Henrich studied philosophy, history and sociology between 1946 and 1950 at Marburg, Frankfurt and Heidelberg.[4] He completed his PhD dissertation at Heidelberg in 1950 under the supervision of Hans-Georg Gadamer.[5] The thesis was Die Einheit der Wissenschaftslehre Max Webers (The unity of Max Weber's epistemology). He wrote his habilitazion in 1956, titled Selbstbewusstsein und Sittlichkeit.[4] Henrich was professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin from 1960 to 1965, at the University of Heidelberg from 1965 to 1981, and at the University of Munich from 1981 to 1994, instructing generations of philosophers in standards of interpreting classical texts.[3] He was also a visiting professor to universities in the United States, such as Harvard and Columbia.[6]
Dieter Henrich's 1973 lecture course on German Idealism introduced to American audiences contemporary currents in German philosophy. His lectures were since then published as Between Kant and Hegel that showed the continuity between German idealism and contemporary philosophical attitudes.[6] Henrich introduced the idea that I-thoughts (what he also called "the epistemic self-relation" [Das wissende Selbstverhältnis]) imply a belief in the existence of a world of objects.[2]
He introduced the term Fichte's original insight[7] (Fichtes ursprüngliche Einsicht) to describe Johann Gottlieb Fichte's idea that the self must already have some prior acquaintance with itself, independent of the act of self-reflection. Henrich noted that Fichte saw the transcendental subject as a primordial selfhood[8] and identified its activity as prior to self-reflection. He also introduced the term Kantian fallacy to describe Immanuel Kant's attempt to ground the self in pure self-reflection, positing the moment of self-reflection as the original source of self-consciousness[9] (see also pre-reflective self-consciousness). His thinking was focused on the mystery of self-consciousness. He pointed out that the evidence of self-consciousness was not really self-evident, but rather obscure, possibly the manifestation of a reason concealed in the clarity of self-consciousness and eluding thought (".. die offenkundige Manifestation eines Grundes, der sich in der Klarheit des Selbstbewußtseins gleichsam verbirgt und dem Denken entzieht").[10]
Henrich died on 17 December at age 95.[3][5][10][11]
From Wikipedia.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.