Josef Koch (historian of philosophy)

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Josef Koch , born Joseph Karl Koch (born May 2, 1885 in Münstereifel , † March 10, 1967 in Cologne ) was a German historian of philosophy and Catholic theologian.

Life

Koch was the son of a high school professor and from 1903 studied theology, philosophy and classical philology at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg , the University of Strasbourg and the University of Bonn , where he received his doctorate in 1915 under Adolf Dyroff (Dr. phil.). He also received his doctorate in Catholic theology under Bernhard Poschmann at the University of Breslau in 1925, where he completed his habilitation in systematic theology in the same year.

In 1933 he became an associate professor (and personal professor) for fundamental theology and philosophical-theological propaedeutics at the University of Breslau.

Grave of Josef Koch (with a note that the grave site should be cleared), July 2018

In 1945 he had to flee from Wroclaw, where he lost his entire library and scientific documents. After the war he was visiting professor in Bonn (he refused a call to Toronto) and from 1947 professor for scholastic and religious philosophy in Göttingen.

In 1948 he moved to a newly created professorship for medieval philosophy at the University of Cologne . In view of Cologne's role in scholastic philosophy, they wanted to focus on medieval philosophy, which is continued today in the Thomas Institute of the university.

In 1956 he retired. Koch wasn't married. He died in 1967 at the age of 81 in a Cologne hospital. His grave is in the Melaten cemetery (hall 36 no. 171/172),

plant

Koch examined theological-philosophical debates (and the resulting error lists) from the end of the 13th century to the middle of the 14th century (a planned comprehensive publication was not made due to the loss of his manuscripts in the Second World War) and in this context the influence of Aristotelian, Platonic , Neoplatonic, Arabic and Jewish philosophical currents on scholastic philosophy. Later he dealt especially with Durandus von St. Pourçain , Nikolaus von Kues and Meister Eckhart .

Since 1934 he has been in charge of the publication of Meister Eckhart's Latin works and worked on the Cusanus edition of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences. A critical edition of De coniecturis (On the Conjectures) by Nikolaus von Kues could only appear posthumously (edited by his student Karl Bormann ).

Honors and memberships

Koch had been a member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences since 1947 and a corresponding member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and a member of the Société Philosophique in Leuven since 1948. He received the Great Federal Cross of Merit and was an honorary papal prelate .

Fonts

  • Karl Bormann (ed.): Small writings . 2 volumes, Storia e letteratura. Raccolta di studi e testi 127, Rome 1973
  • Durandus de S. Porciano OP, Research on the dispute over Thomas Aquinas at the beginning of the 14th century, 1927
  • Platonism in the Middle Ages, Kölner Universitätsreden 4, 1948
  • The Thomist School at the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century, in: B. Geyer, Die patristische und Scholastische Philosophie, 1928, reprint 1964, pp. 528–51
  • Giles of Rome, Errores philosophorum, Critical text with Notes and Introduction, engl. Trans. V. JO Kiedl, 1944
  • Nikolaus von Cues and his environment, meeting reports Heidelberger Akad. Wiss., Phil.-Hist. Class, 1948
  • Nicolai de Cusa Opera Omnia, III: De coniecturis, editors J. Koch and C. Bormann, Verlag JG Senger, 1972
  • Nikolaus v. Kues, in: Theodor Heuss (Ed.), Die Große Deutschen I, 1956, pp. 275–287
  • Editor: Humanism, Mysticism and Art in the World of the Middle Ages, studies and texts on the intellectual history of the Middle Ages 3, Leiden, Cologne 1973
  • Editor: Artes Liberales. From ancient education to the science of the Middle Ages, studies and texts on the intellectual history of the Middle Ages 2, Leiden, Cologne 1959
  • with Herbert Wackerzapp (ed.): The influence of Meister Eckhart on the first philosophical writings of Nikolaus von Kues: (1440–1450), contributions to the history of philosophy and theology of the Middle Ages, 39, 3, Münster 1962
  • The German cardinal in German lands. The legation journey of Nikolaus von Kues (1451/52), Kleine Schriften der Cusanus Gesellschaft 5, Trier 1964
  • The Ars coniecturalis of Nikolaus von Kues, working group for research of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Humanities 16, Cologne 1956

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Death certificate No. 804 of March 13, 1967, registry office Cologne West. In: LAV NRW R civil status register. Retrieved June 21, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Albertus Magnus was a teacher in a monastery school in Cologne, Duns Scotus is buried there, the inquisition trials against Master Eckhart took place here and Thomas von Aquin stayed in Cologne for several years to study
  3. ^ History of the Thomas Institute, University of Cologne
personal data
SURNAME Koch, Josef
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Koch, Joseph Karl (birth name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German historian of philosophy and Catholic theologian
DATE OF BIRTH May 2, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Münstereifel
DATE OF DEATH March 10, 1967
Place of death Cologne