Hermann Schmitz (philosopher)

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Hermann Schmitz (2016)

Hermann Schmitz (born May 16, 1928 in Leipzig , † May 5, 2021 in Kiel ) was a German philosopher , best known as the founder of the New Phenomenology .

Life

Hermann Franz-Heinrich Schmitz, son of the Supreme Court Council Hermann Schmitz was enrolled in Leipzig and earned the Beethoven-Gymnasium Bonn , the High School . He studied from 1949 to 1953 at the University of Bonn , where he was primarily influenced by Erich Rothacker . Schmitz received his doctorate there in 1955 with a dissertation on Goethe's old age thinking in terms and symbols . In 1958 he became an assistant at the Department of Philosophy , University of Kiel , where he met with the font Hegel as a thinker of individuality habilitated . In 1971 Hermann Schmitz received an extraordinary house appointmenta full professorship at the Philosophical Seminar in Kiel, which he headed from 1988 as the successor to Kurt Hübner until his retirement in 1993.

At the age of 88, Schmitz said, looking back on his life, that he “always walked straight ahead on his way. [...] My path could only be so straight because I have not been tied to a family. Therefore it was associated with great losses, because it would have been nice to have a family. But it turned out that I need loneliness to think. "

plant

With his ten-volume work System der Philosophie (1964–1980, new edition 2019), Schmitz founded what he has called New Phenomenology since 1980 . This aims to capture the field of everyday and immediate experiences - according to the motto of Edmund Husserl , the founder of the phenomenological movement : "To the things themselves!" However, Schmitz deviates considerably from classical phenomenology.

Schmitz reported on an experience from 1959 about the personal origins of his new “conception of philosophy”: “I was sitting in the library of the psychiatric clinic in Kiel and read there in a psychiatric magazine that the French psychiatrist Eugène Minkowski had the term 'moi ici maintenant 'introduced. That was all. ”He, Schmitz, then built on this“ I am here now ”and, step by step, developed the terms that carry his system.

In 1977, even before his “system” was completed, Schmitz gave an outline of the “intention, method, basic idea” of his work. His intention is: "To bring the gripping to terms." He wants to "pave the way for a level-headed openness to the forces that move involuntarily." His method is "phenomenology in a new, empirically disillusioned style." His basic idea is that the " Inner world hypothesis "source of all" wrongdoings "of the occidental spirit since antiquity. Schmitz "wants to describe how the world shows itself when it is returned what has been wrongly put into the supposedly private inner world of individual subjects (soul, consciousness, mind, etc.)." The sense of subjectivity is new (without appeal to Inner worlds). With the help of “feeling on one's own body (corporeality) and feeling (feelings)” and the categorical development of the objects perceived in this way made possible by the New Phenomenology, the millennia-old “psychologism” can be overcome for the first time. The “calibration of words to phenomena” creates the prerequisite for enabling people to “speak about experiences that become important to them when, after the pervasive disappointment of life in projections and utopias, they have the opportunity and need to anchor their will to live in the present. "

The theoretical core concept of Schmitz's philosophy is the concept of the body . Schmitz relies on Ludwig Klages , Max Scheler , Maurice Merleau-Ponty and others. He explains his understanding of the body as follows: “When I speak of the body, I do not think of the human or animal body that one can inspect or touch, but of what one feels in its area without having a 'sense organ 'to dispose like an eye or a hand […]. ”This radically calls into question the dualism of body and soul that is classic for traditional philosophy . Schmitz's New Phenomenology can therefore also be aptly described as body philosophy. From the body as the central object of analysis, Hermann Schmitz comes to new insights in almost all areas of philosophy, which he has summarized in his "System of Philosophy". Schmitz presented a critical retraction of certain aspects of the “system” in 1990 in his work The Inexhaustible Object .

In addition to his extensive systematic work, Schmitz has developed and published numerous works on the history of philosophy that place his own thoughts in the context of history. Schmitz dealt with representatives of almost all epochs of Western culture, including Anaximander , Parmenides , Plato , Aristotle , Francisco Suarez , Immanuel Kant , Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Johann Gottlieb Fichte , Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel , Max Stirner , Friedrich Nietzsche , Edmund Husserl , Martin Heidegger and Ludwig Wittgenstein .

effect

With its range of apparently useful terms, the New Phenomenology has found its way into some non-philosophical disciplines, especially medicine , psychology , practical theology and architecture . But it was also able to successfully assert itself as an application-oriented philosophy when applied to other areas such as language . The Society for New Phenomenology has held an annual conference with renowned participants since 1993 and publishes a series of books New Phenomenology , which is published by Karl Alber-Verlag. On February 1, 2006, a Hermann Schmitz endowed professorship for phenomenological research was established at the Institute for Philosophy at the University of Rostock . The chair is occupied by a Schmitz student, Michael Großheim . For Hermann Schmitz's New Phenomenology, a progressive school education has been observed for years .

In addition, the approaches of the New Phenomenology were in parts further developed by another student of Schmitz, Guido Rappe . The systematic treatment of the biographical dimension of the body, which Schmitz can only find rudiments, is to be seen as an essential extension. In his introduction to modern phenomenology , Rappe also places New Phenomenology in the historical context of phenomenology. From Schmitz's point of view, the book places the New Phenomenology “in an appropriate position in the development of phenomenology” and “aptly summarizes the overall tendency of my philosophical endeavors”. In this context, he describes it as a paradox “having to wait until my 90th birthday for such an appreciation”.

criticism

Authors who are fundamentally positive about Schmitz's thinking have also criticized that his formulations are sometimes immodest to arrogant.

With regard to Schmitz's criticism of the scientific worldview as a shortening of the immediate life experience, Bernulf Kanitscheider , Hans Mohr and Joachim Schröter attested Schmitz a misunderstanding of both modern natural science and the theory of science. Schmitz did not understand the structure of physical theories and in particular Albert Einstein's theories of relativity. Schmitz rejected these criticisms and insisted in particular that phenomenology should take precedence over natural science and that its results should by no means simply be accepted.

Schmitz's dealings with Adolf Hitler and National Socialism also met with criticism , especially in his book Adolf Hitler in the History of 1999. On the one hand, the historian Joachim Landkammer complained that Schmitz's attempt to capture and explain German "Hitlerism" based on the history of ideas was fundamentally wrong be. On the other hand, affirmative tendencies cannot be overlooked; Although it is ultimately clear that Schmitz rejects real National Socialism, he sees in this a basically justified counter-reaction to what he identifies as the "failures of Western thought". The general problem with Schmitz's Hitler Book is that the too great historical-philosophical distance with too great an empathic closeness to the object of investigation is a paradoxical combination. The philosopher Fabian Heubel wrote, referring to passages from Schmitz's book on Hitler, that the author made himself “Hitler's ventriloquist”.

Fonts (selection)

  • Goethe's old age thinking in terms and symbols (Volume 1: Part 1 and Part 2, Volume 2), [Berlin] 1955, DNB 480561125 (Dissertation University of Bonn, Philosophical Faculty, June 15, 1955, XXVI, 355 counted sheets; counted sheets 356- 857; 858-1295, 4 [typescript reproduced]).
  • Hegel as the thinker of individuality (= monographs on philosophical research , volume 20) Hain, Meisenheim (am Glan) 1957, DNB 480047618 (Habilitation University of Kiel, Philosophical Faculty, 1958, 168 pages, 8 °).
  • Goethe's thinking on old age in the context of the history of the problem, Bouvier, Bonn 1959.
  • Subjectivity. Contributions to phenomenology and logic, Bouvier, Bonn 1968.
  • Nihilism as Fate ?, Bouvier, Bonn 1972.
  • System of philosophy
    • Volume I: The Present, Bouvier, Bonn 1964 / New edition: Alber, Freiburg & Munich 2019.
    • Volume II, Part 1: Der Leib, Bouvier, Bonn 1965 / New edition: Alber, Freiburg & Munich 2019.
    • Volume II, part 2: The body in the mirror of art, Bouvier, Bonn 1966 / New edition: Alber, Freiburg & Munich 2019.
    • Volume III: The space , part 1: The physical space, Bouvier, Bonn 1967 / New edition: Alber, Freiburg & Munich 2019.
    • Volume III: The Space , Part 2: The Emotional Space , Bouvier, Bonn 1969 / New edition: Alber, Freiburg & Munich 2019.
    • Volume III: The space , 3rd part: The legal space . Practical Philosophy, Bouvier, Bonn 1973 / New edition: Alber, Freiburg & Munich 2019.
    • Volume III: The Space , Part 4: The Divine and Space, Bouvier, Bonn 1977 / New edition: Alber, Freiburg & Munich 2019.
    • Volume III: Space , Part 5: Perception, Bouvier, Bonn 1978 / New edition: Alber, Freiburg & Munich 2019.
    • Volume IV: The Person, Bouvier, Bonn 1980 / New edition: Alber, Freiburg & Munich 2019.
    • Volume V: The Abolition of the Present, Bouvier, Bonn 1980 / New edition: Alber, Freiburg & Munich 2019.
  • New phenomenology, Bouvier, Bonn 1980.
  • Aristotle's theory of ideas
    • Volume 1, part 1: Aristotle. Commentary on the 7th book of metaphysics, Bouvier, Bonn 1985.
    • Volume 1, Part 2: Aristotle. Ontologie, Noologie, Theologie, Bouvier, Bonn 1985.
    • Volume 2: Plato and Aristoteles, Bouvier, Bonn 1985.
  • Anaximander and the beginnings of Greek philosophy, Bouvier, Bonn 1988.
  • The origin of the item. From Parmenides to Democritus, Bouvier, Bonn 1988.
  • What did Kant want ?, Bouvier, Bonn 1989.
  • The inexhaustible object. Basics of Philosophy, Bouvier, Bonn 1990.
  • Hegel's logic, Bouvier, Bonn 1992, 2 2007.
  • The alienated subjectivity. From Fichte to Hegel, Bouvier, Bonn 1992.
  • Love, Bouvier, Bonn 1993.
  • New foundations in epistemology, Bouvier, Bonn 1994.
  • Self-expression as a philosophy. Metamorphoses of Alienated Subjectivity, Bouvier, Bonn 1995.
  • Husserl and Heidegger, Bouvier, Bonn 1996.
  • Cave passages. On the present task of philosophy, Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1997.
  • Adolf Hitler in History, Bouvier, Bonn 1999.
  • The present day space, Bouvier, Bonn 1999.
  • What is New Phenomenology ?, Rostock 2003.
  • Situations and constellations: Against the ideology of total networking, Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2005, ISBN 3-495-48146-X .
  • Freedom, Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2007, ISBN 978-3-495-48297-1 .
  • The way of European philosophy. An examination of conscience.
  • Logical investigations, Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2008, ISBN 978-3-495-48315-2 .
  • Brief introduction to New Phenomenology, Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2009, 2 2010, 3 2012, ISBN 978-3-495-48361-9 (Italian 2011, Polish 2015, French 2016, Danish 2017).
  • Beyond Naturalism, Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2010, ISBN 978-3-495-48381-7 .
  • Consciousness, Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2010, ISBN 978-3-495-48425-8 .
  • Der Leib, De Gruyter, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-11-025098-5 (Danish 2017).
  • The realm of standards , Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2012, ISBN 978-3-495-48511-8 .
  • Critical foundation of mathematics. A phenomenological-logical analysis . Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2013, ISBN 978-3-495-48561-3 .
  • Phenomenology of time . Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2014, ISBN 978-3-495-48627-6 .
  • Does the world exist? Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2014, ISBN 978-3-495-48668-9 .
  • Atmospheres . Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2014, ISBN 978-3-495-48674-0 .
  • Be yourself . Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2015, ISBN 978-3-495-48709-9 .
  • Real Life Excavations: A Review . Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2016, ISBN 978-3-495-48803-4 .
  • On the epigenesis of the person . Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2017, ISBN 978-3-495-48868-3 .
  • Why philosophize? Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2018, ISBN 978-3-495-48978-9 .
  • How man is born. Contributions to the history of self-development . Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2019, ISBN 978-3-495-49049-5 .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Großheim: Prof. Dr. Hermann Schmitz passed away. Society for New Phenomenology, May 5, 2021, accessed May 7, 2021 .
  2. ↑ Inna Barinberg, Simone Miller: "Feelings are not a private matter ". Conversation with Hermann Schmitz. In: Philosophy Magazin , issue 02/2017, pp. 70–75.
  3. ↑ The new phenomenology. A conversation with Hermann Schmitz. led by Andreas Brenner. In: Information Philosophy. December 2009, p. 21.
  4. ↑ Hermann Schmitz: My system of philosophy. Intention - method - basic idea. In: Information Philosophy. January / February 1977, p. 2 (forts, p. 23)
  5. ↑ cf. on this Hermann Schmitz: The four mistakes of the occidental spirit. In: ders .: Adolf Hitler in history. Bouvier, Bonn 1999, pp. 32-82.
  6. ↑ Hermann Schmitz: My system of philosophy. Intention - method - basic idea. 1977.
  7. ↑ Hermann Schmitz: The inexhaustible object. Bonn 1990, p. 115.
  8. ↑ Cf. for example Dirk Schmoll, Andreas Kuhlmann (Ed.): Symptom and Phenomenon. Phenomenological approaches to the sick person. Freiburg / Munich 2005 or Jürgen Hasse : The city as a space of atmospheres. To differentiate between atmospheres and moods. In: The Old City. 35, 2, 2008, pp. 103-116.
  9. ↑ Cf. Stefan Volke: Sprachphysiognomik - Basics of a body phenomenological description of sound perception. Freiburg 2007.
  10. ↑ Cf. Guido Rappe : Intercultural Ethics, Volume II: Ethical Anthropology, Part 1: The body as the foundation of ethics . European University Press, Berlin / Bochum / London / Paris 2005, ISBN 3-86515-003-9 .
  11. ↑ See Guido Rappe: Intercultural Ethics, Volume II: Ethical Anthropology, Part 2: Personal Ethics . European University Press, Berlin / Bochum / London / Paris 2006, ISBN 3-86515-003-9 .
  12. ↑ See Guido Rappe: Body and Subject. Phenomenological contributions to an expanded view of man . Projektverlag, Bochum 2012, ISBN 978-3-89733-255-3 .
  13. ↑ Cf. Guido Rappe: Introduction to Modern Phenomenology. Phenomenon / body / subjectivity . Projektverlag, Bochum 2018, ISBN 978-3-89733-443-4 .
  14. ↑ Hermann Schmitz: How man is born. Contributions to the history of self-development . Alber, Freiburg / Br. 2019, ISBN 978-3-495-49049-5 , pp. 11 .
  15. ↑ See Jens Soentgen, Die verdeckte Reality. Introduction to the New Phenomenology by Hermann Schmitz, Bonn 1998, p. 170.
  16. ↑ Reality, Laws and Phenomena, Considering-Knowledge-Ethics 15 (2004), 175–177.
  17. ↑ The Natural Sciences as Popanz, ibid. 185–187
  18. ↑ Natural Science in the Mirror of New Phenomenology, ibid. 198–201.
  19. ↑ Phenomenology as an advocate of involuntary life experience, ibid. 215-228.
  20. ↑ Joachim Landkammer: From Homer to Hitler . ( Memento of December 23, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) In: Sic et Non - Forum for Philosophy and Culture (2000)
  21. ↑ Fabian Heubel: Hermann Schmitz `` Adolf Hitler in der Geschichte '' or on the critique of the new phenomenology, p. 49. Retrieved on April 19, 2019 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schmitz, Hermann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig
DATE OF DEATH May 5, 2021
PLACE OF DEATH Kiel