Arnhelm Neusüss

Arnhelm Neusüss (* 1937 in Eschwege , also written out as Neusüß ) is a German political scientist and sociologist .

Neusüss studied philosophy , sociology , political science and German in Marburg / Lahn and Berlin and received his doctorate in 1967 at the University of Marburg under the sociologist Heinz Maus and the political scientist Wolfgang Abendroth with a thesis on the sociology of knowledge by Karl Mannheim . From 1966 to 1972 he was assistant to the political scientist Kurt Lenk at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg . At that time, Neusüss was active in the SDS until its dissolution. In 1973 he followed a call to the Berlin University of Education . From 1980 until his retirement in 2002 he taught at Faculty 15 of the Free University of Berlin , the Otto Suhr Institute (OSI), social theory and the history of political thought. His publications, which revolve around the core question of the sociology of knowledge, namely the emergence, dissemination, use and preservation of knowledge within groups, communities and societies, also lie in these areas. In doing so, he initially orientated himself on the class-theoretical problem posed by Karl Marx's ideology , later on the system-theoretical problem opened up by Niklas Luhmann's conception of evolution .

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1. Utopian consciousness and free-floating intelligence. On the sociology of knowledge of Karl Mannheim . In his dissertation, published in 1968, Neusüss examines the structure of the knowledge-sociological terminology of Mannheim and its immanent network of relationships in order to convey it in the spirit of the "critical theory" of the Frankfurt School to a historical metaphysical and positivistic failure of its innovative claim. In a later article ( The discovery of the blind spot. Epitaph for Mannheim , 1988) he corrected this criticism.

2. Utopia. Concept and phenomenon of the utopian . In this anthology, also first published in 1968, with 'classic' theoretical texts on utopia from Horkheimer and Bloch to Mannheim and Popper to Buber and Kolakowski , which was widely used, Neusüss favors an "intentional concept of utopia" in a broad introduction to the history of the use of the term. in strict delimitation to the concept of ideology and in polemical contrast to a literary and a historical understanding. From this introduction speaks the momentum of an acute revolt at the time, which Neusüss revoked in the preface to the 1986 edition .

3. Marxism. A plan of the Great Method . Originating from a 15-part series for the Sender Freies Berlin (SFB), which was supposed to explain the overall context of Marxist social and historical theory to a broad audience, this presentation, published in 1981, has an introductory character, but at the same time tries to contrast the methodical against the metaphysical in To put Marxism . In the west it was perceived as orthodox, in the east as dissident.

4. A trip to the mountains. How our horizon shifted Knowledge-sociological essays . In the texts published after the "Wende" between 1992 and 2006 and revised for this book, which appeared in 2007, Neusüss once again reflects on the topics identified with the keywords utopia , ideology , criticism , philosophy of history , social theory , intellectuals and decision-making and expands them with current perspectives the situation of morality , art , exchange and terror . By means of a Kafka interpretation, which gave the title, it tries to make a diagnosis of the present, which includes the learning process of the author documented with these texts and also sketched autobiographically in the middle section of the volume ( the exchange of the interpretation pattern, reconstruction of a survey ).

Publications (selection)

• Goal setting. New poems. Böhland & Schremmer Verlag, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-943622-23-2
• Safety distance. Poems. Böhland & Schremmer Verlag, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-943622-17-1
• The German spirit - without belief. A postmodern defense. Böhland & Schremmer Verlag, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-943622-14-0
• Self reference. Poems on the plateau . Böhland & Schremmer Verlag, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-943622-06-5
• Picture book. Poetry . Böhland & Schremmer Verlag, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-943622-03-4
• A trip to the mountains. How our horizon shifted Knowledge-sociological essays . wjs publishing house. Wolf Jobst Siedler jr., Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-937989-28-0 .
• Marxism. A plan of the Great Method . ( UTB ; 1033). Fink, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-7705-1948-5 .
• Utopia. Concept and phenomenon of the utopian . 3. revised Edition Campus-Verlag, Frankfurt / Main 1986, ISBN 3-593-33592-1 .
• Utopian consciousness and free-floating intelligence. On the sociology of knowledge of Karl Mannheim . (Marburg treatises on political science). Meisenheim am Glan 1968 (also dissertation, University of Marburg).
• Introduction . In: Franz Jakubowski: The ideological superstructure in the materialistic conception of history . (Archive of Socialist Literature, Vol. 9) New Criticism Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1968, pp. I – XI.

Web links

• Literature by and about Arnhelm Neusüss in the catalog of the German National Library
• Homepage of A. Neusüss

Individual evidence

1. ^ Tilman Fichter / Siegward Lönnendonker : A short history of the SDS. West Berlin. Rotbuch 1977, p. 186