Hans-Rudolf Schwyzer

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Hans-Rudolf Schwyzer (born March 8, 1908 in Zurich ; † October 23, 1993 ibid) was a Swiss classical philologist and historian of philosophy . He has stood out particularly for his work on Plotinus , including the basic complete edition of his writings , co- edited with Paul Henry SJ .

life and work

Hans-Rudolf Schwyzer was the son of the Indo-Germanist Eduard Schwyzer . Through his father he made himself familiar with Greek literature at an early age. After graduating in 1926, Schwyzer studied classical philology at the universities of Zurich , Bonn and Berlin . In 1931 he was in Bonn at Ernst Bickel with a dissertation on the Stoic philosopher Chaeremon Dr. phil. PhD . He dedicated the dissertation, which was printed the following year and awarded the Welcker Prize, to his father.

Despite his initial success, Schwyzer decided not to pursue a university career. He taught Latin and Greek at the canton schools in Zurich, Zuoz and Chur. From 1947 he worked at the literary school in Zurich . In addition to the school service, he continued his scientific work. He was particularly concerned with the philosophy of Plotinus . In order to be able to continue his work undisturbed, he also turned down an offer from the Free University of Berlin for a full professorship (1959). 1973 Schwyzer retired. He worked temporarily as a guest lecturer at the University of Friborg (Switzerland) .

Schwyzer's work on Plotin's philosophy represented a considerable advance in research. The thought model and the written legacies of this imperial philosopher had a considerable effect on Western and Arabic philosophy , especially in the development of metaphysics . Schwyzer published essays and small papers on understanding the philosophy of Plotinus. Especially his essay The twofold view in the philosophy of Plotinus ( Museum Helveticum 1, 1944, pp. 87-99) was trend-setting. He wrote an extensive article Plotinos (1951) about the life, work and impact of the philosopher for the real encyclopedia of classical antiquity .

Together with the French philologist Paul Henry SJ Schwyzer created a carefully annotated complete edition of Plotin's writings, which appeared as Editio maior (Paris / Brussels 1951–1973) and Editio minor ( Oxford 1964–1982) in three volumes each. With this edition, Henry and Schwyzer created the basis for dealing with plotin, which finally replaced the older editions by Adolf Kirchhoff , Richard Volkmann and Émile Bréhier . Werner Beierwaltes went so far as to describe the edition by Henry and Schwyzer as "the actual 'Editio princeps'".

To honor his scientific life's work, Schwyzer received an honorary doctorate from the universities of Munich , Freiburg i. Ü. and Zurich.

Schwyzer's estate is in the Zurich Central Library .

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Schwyzer, Hans-Rudolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss classical philologist and historian of philosophy
DATE OF BIRTH March 8, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH October 23, 1993
Place of death Zurich