Alfred Schmidt (philosopher)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Large photograph by Alfred Schmidt, the original can be seen in Frankfurt's Bockenheimer Warte subway station
Alfred Schmidt's grave of honor in Frankfurt's main cemetery

Alfred Schmidt (born May 19, 1931 in Berlin ; † August 28, 2012 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German philosopher . He is considered a "pioneer of an undogmatic-emancipatory Marx reception".

Life

Alfred Schmidt studied history , English and classical philology at the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main , later philosophy and sociology. The student of Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno came from a humble background. Schmidt's father was a mechanic, which was a noticeable contrast to the commercial (Horkheimer) or intellectual family background (Adorno) of his teachers.

In 1960, Alfred Schmidt received his doctorate from Karl Marx on the concept of nature , which opened “a new chapter in Marx's reception”. Translated into 18 languages, it became “one of the most widely read books in the European protest movement” of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1972 Schmidt became professor of philosophy and sociology at the University of Frankfurt as successor to Jürgen Habermas on the chair of Max Horkheimer. His "Thursday lecture was legendary in the 80s and also attracted many foreigners". In 1999 Schmidt retired, but continued to give lectures.

research

The main research areas of Alfred Schmidt were the critical theory of the Frankfurt School , history of materialism , philosophy of religion , Masonic research , Ludwig Feuerbach and Schopenhauer . He also worked as a translator of English and French scripts.

Alfred Schmidt was a member of the PEN Center Germany and an honorary member of the Schopenhauer Society . He belonged to the Frankfurt Freemason Lodge Zur Einigkeit . In 1989 he was awarded the Goethe plaque of the city of Frankfurt am Main and in 1998 the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon .

The archive center of the Johann Christian Senckenberg University Library of the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main received his estate in November 2012 , including numerous correspondence, manuscripts, electronic documents from three surviving computers and its extensive private library (260 linear meters, around 8,000 books) in over 600 Moving boxes.

Fonts

Books

  • The concept of nature in the teaching of Karl Marx . European Publishing House, Frankfurt am Main 1962, 4th edition 1993, ISBN 3-434-46209-0 .
  • History and structure. Questions of a Marxist History . Hanser, Munich 1971, ISBN 3-446-11504-8 .
  • Emancipatory sensuality. Ludwig Feuerbach's anthropological materialism . Hanser, Munich 1973, ISBN 3-446-11652-4 .
  • On the idea of ​​critical theory. Elements of Max Horkheimer's philosophy . Hanser, Munich 1974, ISBN 3-446-11863-2 .
  • with Werner Post : What is materialism? Kösel, Munich 1975, ISBN 3-466-40000-7 .
  • Critical theory as a philosophy of history . Hanser, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-446-12201-X .
  • Three studies on materialism. Schopenhauer. Horkheimer. Happiness problem . Hanser, Munich 1977, ISBN 3-446-12460-8 .
  • Critical Theory, Humanism, Enlightenment. Philosophical work . Reclam, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-15-009977-3 .
  • Goethe's wonderfully luminous nature. Philosophical study on the German Late Enlightenment . Hanser, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-446-14141-3 .
  • The truth in the guise of a lie. Schopenhauer's philosophy of religion . Piper, Munich and Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-492-10639-0 .
  • Idea and world will. Schopenhauer as a critic of Hegel . Hanser, Munich and Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-446-15161-3 .
  • History of the emergence of humanitarian freemasonry. Deistic roots and aspects . Posthumous ed. by Klaus-Jürgen Grün and Thomas Forwe. Salier, Leipzig 2014, ISBN 978-3-943539-40-0 .
  • Marx as a philosopher. Studies from the perspective of critical theory . Edited by Michael Jeske and Bernard Görlich, Zu Klampen, Springe 2018, ISBN 978-3-86674-570-4 .

Lectures and essays

  • Practice . In: Hermann Krings, Hans Michael Baumgartner, Christoph Wild (eds.): Handbook of Basic Philosophical Concepts. Study edition , volume 4. Kösel, Munich 1973, p. 1107 ff.
  • Heidegger and the Frankfurt School - Herbert Marcuse's Heidegger Marxism . In: Peter Kemper : Martin Heidegger - fascination and shock . Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 1990, ISBN 3-593-34372-X . Pp. 153-177.
  • Virtue and the world run. Lectures and essays on the philosophy of Schopenhauer (1960–2003) . Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2004, ISBN 3-631-38001-1 .
  • Materialism . In: Helmut Reinalter, Peter J. Brenner (ed.): Lexicon of the humanities. Technical terms, disciplines, people . Böhlau, Vienna [a. a.] 2011, ISBN 978-3-205-78540-8 . Pp. 505-512.

translator

editor

literature

  • A touch of melancholy . In: Der Spiegel . No. 24 , 1972, p. 118-119 ( online ). Quote: "Hesse's minister of education, Ludwig von Friedeburg, has now confirmed what had long been certain for those in the know: Alfred Schmidt, 41, is the new head of the 'Frankfurt School', probably the most influential school for philosophers and sociology in post-war Germany."
  • Stefan Gandler : Materialism Today. Alfred Schmidt and Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez . In: Journal for Critical Theory , Lüneburg, 2013, Vol. 19, No. 36/37, pp. 144–159.

Obituaries

Web links

Wikiquote: Alfred Schmidt  - Quotes
Commons : Alfred Schmidt  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Rudolf Walther: Obituary in the taz , August 31, 2012.
  2. ↑ "In the correspondence between his university masters Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer, there is occasional disparaging talk of 'our Schmidt', who is to be used for subordinate tasks like servants and maidservants in manor houses," wrote Rudolf Walther in his obituary on Schmidt the taz .
  3. ↑ Hans Martin wage Mann: obituary in the Süddeutsche Zeitung , August 31 2012th
  4. ^ Social Sciences Faculty 03. History of the Chair. Johann Wolfgang Goethe University , accessed on September 11, 2014 .
  5. ↑ Dieter Sattler: Obituary in the Frankfurter Neue Presse , August 30, 2012.
  6. ↑ Compelled to think sharply . In: FAZ , September 14, 2011; Interview (with a commitment to Freemasonry).
  7. ↑ Press release, November 20, 2012. Goethe University Frankfurt am Main; Retrieved November 21, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German philosopher and sociologist
DATE OF BIRTH May 19, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH August 28, 2012
Place of death Frankfurt am Main