Theodor Litt

Theodor Litt

Theodor Litt (born December 27, 1880 in Düsseldorf , † July 16, 1962 in Bonn ) was a German cultural and social philosopher and educator .

In dealing with Dilthey , Simmel and Cassirer, Litt developed an independent approach to cultural philosophy and philosophical anthropology , which was determined by the dialectical view of the relationship between the individual and society, man and world, reason and life. At the same time, he projected these thoughts into a humanities pedagogy that had its starting point in reform pedagogy at the beginning of the 20th century and, via Litt's pupil Klafki, reached into the discussion on educational reform in the 1970s. Litt identified with the Weimar Republic and, as rector of the University of Leipzig, came into conflict with National Socialism , was banned from lecturing in 1937 and retired early. Nevertheless, he continued to publish critically against the prevailing ideology. After the end of the Second World War he could not come to terms with the ideology of the SED and therefore moved to the University of Bonn , where he founded the Institute for Educational Sciences .

biography

Theodor Litt was the son of the high school professor Ferdinand Litt and the great-nephew of the theater director and actor Hermann Litt . From 1890 to 1898 Litt attended the humanistic municipal grammar school in Düsseldorf (today's Humboldt grammar school in Düsseldorf ). Then he began a teaching degree in philosophy , history and classical philology (with one semester in Berlin) at the University of Bonn . In Bonn he became a member of the Makaria singer association and in Berlin of the Academic Song Board in the Sondershäuser Association . In 1904 he received his doctorate in classical philology with a dissertation written in Latin . A four-year employment as a teacher for ancient languages ​​and history in Bonn, Kreuznach and from 1906 as a senior teacher in Cologne at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium was followed by a six-month position as a consultant in the Prussian Ministry of Culture in Berlin.

Litt's interest in philosophy and education is said to have been triggered , among other things, by the trauma of the First World War. As early as 1919, the University of Bonn appointed Litt as an extraordinary professor for education. In the individual and community , Litt gave an outline of the cultural and social philosophy. In addition to Ernst Troeltsch , Ernst Cassirer and Georg Simmel , Litt became a member of the Leipzig School for Social Philosophy. In 1920 he took over as the successor to Eduard Spranger , who moved to the University of Berlin, the chair for philosophy and education at the University of Leipzig , where he worked until 1937 as a university professor or rector (1931-1932).

In 1927 Litt addressed his pedagogical problems in the work Leading or Growing . His rejection of irrational, organological and romantic ideologies as well as his claim to respect for adolescent and developing people led to hostility from the National Socialists . In his inaugural speech as rector of the University of Leipzig in 1931, he spoke out in favor of maintaining an independent university. The Nazi rule heralded the end of his first creative period from 1919 to 1937 for Litt. He did not bow to the regime that attacked his anti-National Socialist stance. At the University Association Day in October 1932, Litt suggested a declaration by the university lecturers in which a position should be taken against the National Socialist movement. Nevertheless, Litt is named among the signatories of the professors' commitment at German universities and colleges to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist state of November 11, 1933. In 1934 his lectures were severely disrupted and the University of Leipzig was even temporarily closed. In 1936 Litt ended a lecture tour in Vienna because the Nazi authorities imposed a ban on him. On returning to Leipzig, he demanded his early retirement, which he enforced in 1937.

Nevertheless, Litt did not let himself be stopped from publishing the little book Der deutsche Geist und das Christianentum in 1938 . In it he criticized Alfred Rosenberg's anti-Semitic work The Myth of the 20th Century , in which the latter spoke out in favor of a religion that should replace Christianity. Litt was very well received by believing Christians, and the relatively large edition was immediately sold out. But Litt was disappointed by the rejection by his colleagues who belonged to humanities education, such as Eduard Spranger and Wilhelm Flitner , who during the Nazi era mostly remained in their chairs despite agreeing with Litt's criticism. Only Herman Nohl was dismissed from office in 1937. When Litt was also banned from giving lectures at the Saxon Academy in 1944 , he withdrew completely.

Litt's second creative period began in 1945. On the recommendation of Ernst Cassirer , he was assigned the task of democratic reform at the University of Leipzig. Although Litt taught again in 1946, after a lecture on the importance of educational theory for the training of teachers in East Berlin, he came into conflict with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and took over a professorship for philosophy and education at the University of Bonn . Litt founded and remained director of the Institute for Educational Sciences until his death. His numerous lectures, such as Self-Criticism in Modern Culture or Political Ethics and Pedagogy, were just as well received as his work The Political Self- Education of the German People, which gave rise to the opening of a series of publications by the Federal Agency for Civic Education . In 1962, Litt's last work, Freedom and Order of Life, was published , which again dealt with the totalitarian types of power and their political theories.

Litt was a member of the Saxon and Bavarian as well as the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin , the Academy of Charitable Sciences in Erfurt and the Austrian Academy of Sciences . He was an honorary doctor from the universities of Munich and Münster .

Philosophical position

Dialectical mindset

As a philosopher, Theodor Litt was strongly influenced by the dialectical way of thinking that was determined by his dealings with Kant and Herder on the one hand and Hegel on the other. Like Eduard Spranger , Herman Nohl , Wilhelm Flitner and Erich Less , he is assigned to the camp of humanities education . He himself described his position as cultural pedagogy according to Ernst Troeltsch, which believed that from a historically saturated overall view of the cultural area he could derive the pedagogical goals from tradition in a harmonizing dialectic - covering contradictions and far removed from conflicts of power and interests. Thinkers like Georg Simmel , Wilhelm Dilthey and Edmund Husserl also influenced his philosophical worldview. Jonas Cohn's book Theory of Dialectics inspired him to dialectically examine problem areas in education. But for Litt, a critical examination of contradictions was not necessary for the purpose of education. For Litt the dialectic shows itself in the antinomy of the individual and the community, in the antinomy of reason and life as well as in the juxtaposition of the subjective spirit (person) and the objective spirit (objective spirit formation).

With his dialectical way of thinking, Litt aimed at the abolition of one-dimensional views and their credibility in an all-encompassing context. He took a rational, contrary and dialectical approach and conceived a comprehensive cultural philosophy ( individual and community ) as well as a philosophical anthropology ( man and world ). He tried to bring together what was for him the fundamental opposition between knowledge and life into an orderly whole by looking at interpretive ideas as a whole. The “free-thinking” educational science of Wolfgang Klafki and the educational reform of the 1960s tied in with Litt's didactic approach to support humanities, but above all historical education with reference to technology, natural science and the world of work . Even Talcott Parsons ' social theory is trained on her.

History as an overall cultural situation

Man is to be seen in the historical context. Litt understood history not only to mean the past, but also the future history shaped by people. He defined history as the “overall cultural situation”, which means the entirety of what people in a community have created through thinking, acting and producing. History is cultural history in the sense of the spiritual world. Under this condition, education is “action which, by its nature, is directed towards the context of the human-social world, i. H. of the spiritual world. ”But this assumed totality is not given in this way in the world. One finds, characteristic of the overall cultural situation, rather inequalities, disjunctions and diversity. That which is already given in the world is the separate existence alongside one another. Human actions differ in their intention and targeting and therefore exist separately alongside one another.

Contradiction in the basic dialectical structure

By creating syntheses , tensions and contradictions can be resolved. These tensions are not a concept made up by the mind, but a real, antinomic structure of human existence . The reason for the contradiction, for the antinomic in the human psyche, lies in the dialectical basic structure of human existence. The basic dialectical structure cannot be remedied from the outside through psychological measures. At most, these can provide information about this contradiction, but not how the individual can deal with the explanation. In the upbringing of a child, the resolution of dialectical tensions cannot be realized, because the tensions are just as attached to the educator (leader) as to the person to be educated, and he is just as unable to step out of them. Litt, however, did not see the solution to the tensions and contradictions inherent in humans in natural growth, especially since this growth would have to start from the assumption that the development would be appropriate and appropriate from the outset.

Removal of the tension

There is a gap between human spiritual existence and organic existence . There is no “ought” or meaning in accordance with nature. Nature does not seek to remove contradictions. Rather, this is the fictional desire of people because their spirit demands to live in harmony with “all that is”, and because it seeks harmonic perfection. The human mind demands the elimination of contradictions through independent intellectual work. According to Litt, the being of education can only be understood in terms of its “ought”. This “ought” is the synthesis that has to be established in order to recognize contradictions and to accept them as given as the product of the human mind, which claims to control contradictions and to bring them into agreement through mental effort. The merging of opposing poles is possible for the human mind because those also originate from it.

Man and world

Litt emphasized the importance of the individual: I and the world are dependent on one another and are in a mutual process of opening up. Litt criticized Hegel's one-dimensional interpretation , who eclipsed the individual. The objective contents must be incorporated into the life of the respective subject in order to be useful. The term tradition is inseparable from that of individuation. “Human” and “world” interact with one another and are in a positive dialectical tension with one another, as both work on one another. Through this mutual "processing" both form each other. Man forms himself in his definition of himself, and the world as the totality of the spiritual-social-historical contents is formed in its virtuous claim, which is respected and strengthened.

“What as custom, morality, law regulates the dealings of the comrades, what guides their actions as a jointly pursued goal of the will, what as a believing certainty lifts their minds above the earthly drifts: all of this comes together in a structure of obligations to which the The arbitrariness of the individual finds its limit. "

- Theodor Litt : Man and World.

Science , the world of work and technology are referred to as the world and are in mutual interaction with people. Man forms and creates the world and thus has the character of “world-building”. The areas summarized as the world are "forming powers".

School pedagogical position

Educational ideals

For Litt, there is no ideal design for education . However, there are educational categories such as B. religion , science , art and morality , which remain inviolable in their educational character. It is characteristic of society to want to create an educational ideal in order to protect certain contents of education from criticism. This tendency is unsuitable and questionable. On the other hand, it is a different matter to seek the constructs of the spirit for their own sake and to woo their meaning and purpose in pure self-forgetfulness. Upbringing can be effective even without an educational ideal. Without an ideal blueprint, it aims at the self-shaping of the subject in order to come to himself by working his way through to his actual form of existence and thus revealing himself. Human education cannot be inferred from any educational ideal . It is the same with the mind, which either is or is not. In order to form the self that is conscious, it is necessary to discuss the given world individually. Neither upbringing nor education have to follow an ideal, be it from religion or politics , in order to make it useful. On the other hand, the free-thinking spirit, who wants to come to himself in the world, commits itself to education and training. It is up to education to form the free-thinking spirit through critical examination of the world.

Cultural and educational goods

Litt emphasizes the importance of the choice of educational content . Because of the variety of educational content in pedagogy , it is all the more important to check its content. No educational content may claim general validity because its relevance is measured against certain life contexts of the respective culture . Pedagogy must try to move from a totality of cultural conditions to the individual areas of culture in order to bring a structure into the cultural areas and cultural assets and to classify them according to importance. However, this approach still disregards fundamental decisions about cultural and educational assets. A cultural asset can be of great importance for the observer and enjoyer without being relevant to education. There is no coming together of cultural goods and educational goods. In order for cultural goods to prove themselves as educational goods, they must fit into the inner movement of the living whole and allow themselves to be related to the whole of the youth's soul development . They must conform to the worldviews of the youth. Once you have selected the appropriate educational goods, these still need to be specified - for a designated target group with a comparable way of thinking.

The task of education

Education teaches people to keep themselves and their relationships in order. Humans gain better access to realize this. With its objectivity, work has a positive effect on people. This life transference makes it possible for humans to adapt to the order inherent in work in order to grow humanly through work. Litt puts the pedagogy of society into practice. Even the most functional family can no longer provide the performance that was still imaginable in the times of Pestalozzi or Diesterweg in order to enable adolescents to cope with everyday life successfully . The school is constantly taking on new tasks in order to ensure and support the everyday suitability and personal responsibility of the adolescent. A separation of upbringing and the adult world (professional world) is no longer conceivable. From kindergarten onwards, children would also experience the constraints of the adult world.

Educational and vital signs

The young person should deal with classical contents and cultural assets with an educational character of "timeless importance" because these are the actual educational values. In addition to the actual educational values, the school must also take into account and relate to the real demands of life, the social demands. This means that the so-called “vital values” have the same importance as the educational values. A tension arises between the two values, which remains incompatible, since it cannot be shattered and therefore endured.

Democratization of the youth

Litt also calls for current political controversies to be kept out of class. The school should not be misused for party political purposes. On the other hand, it underlines the important consolidation of the "youthful" character through spirituality and morality. Despite Litt's rejection of political and academic ties, he advocates education towards democracy. A functioning school system shows itself through consistency. The school should distance itself from the general, intellectual and cultural climate in order not to fall into the false belief that it has to react to political controversies. School has a preserving character because it is able to pass on the "educational solidarity of the generations" and is obliged to remain constant even in times of change.

Criticism of the single school system

Litt advocates the structured school system and categorically rejects the single school . Litt also speaks out in favor of the grammar schools with their respective core salary. The task of the higher schools is to offer high-performing students a high-quality education. The variety of training offered at higher schools is very limited at vocational schools, since one remains an expert in one area and general education, which also includes learning basic social and intellectual skills, is neglected. In other words, the vocational school has the task of opening up to basic areas of existence and connecting with them. It should put culture and history in a context that is appropriate for the respective profession. Understanding and respect should also be important aspects of the educational task in these schools, as these are central points for preventing blatant and massive human rights violations.

Pedagogical influence in the classroom

For Litt, “teaching” and “upbringing” are to be seen as linked, because an educational aspect always flows into the teaching. The pedagogical effect is decisive for the orderly and constant teaching, which focuses on the education for appropriateness, work ethic and the fulfillment of duties. Litt finds it advantageous if the above-mentioned values ​​are passed on by teachers without these having a direct influence on students in their interests, since every teacher has a different educational charisma and perspective. In addition to the reciprocal interweaving of "teaching" and "education", there is also one for "intellect" and "character" or "knowledge" and "education". “Knowledge” is always an assessment of the situation, and the unification of knowledge and conscience is a prerequisite for the action to correspond to knowledge (belief).

Tasks of the teachers

Required properties

Litt is of the opinion that there are born educators who are naturally endowed with outstanding educational talent; however, most educators need to learn certain tools and educational methods. In a narrower sense, it is understood to mean the consistency and determination of the educational design and unlimited knowledge of teaching methods. In addition, Litt speaks out in favor of the methodical, because a systematic, planned procedure leaves no room for faulty designs. In addition to the methodological knowledge, the pedagogical theory is to be emphasized as a requirement for the teacher, even if it has nothing to do with the practical implementation per se. Rather, it has to instill a "historical awareness of the location", which teachers should use to make it easier for students to find their way around in world events. Litt also understands the historical location awareness to mean the "breadth of the intellectual horizon". It allows the teacher to convincingly represent the “spiritual powers whose expression he encounters as the content of his teaching activity”. In addition, he is given the competence to examine contemporary phenomena carefully and conscientiously. Pedagogical theory also has the task of giving the prospective teacher a sense of his or her pedagogical self-determination, which is based on inner freedom and a sense of duty. A good teacher can be recognized by the fact that he has the self-control not to take sides, but is able to deal with contentious topics and central questions of life on a level of unity. Wanting to penetrate and influence the school ideologically poses a danger to Litt.

Grant freedom of choice

It is a mistake to deprive students of the opportunity to make decisions about their personal worldview by trying to make them compatible with the parenting generation at an early stage. Instead, they should be given the opportunity to shape their own vision of the future. This demands tolerance from the teacher and a control of his own ideal images and ideas. This also enables him to better connect the students with the objective culture and to act as a mediator between “I” and “world” so that the educational process leads through the person to the point. The teacher has the duty to bring objective content closer to his students. Education only fulfills its purpose if, in addition to “growing” the human being, leadership is also seen as part of the educational process. Only observing the direction of development of a child and fulfilling their needs and preferences as well as promoting their interests is retrograde as the sole "educational measure" and in no way sufficient for the human being. “I” and “world” are in a reciprocal process of opening up and dealing with objective content that corresponds to age and talents is fundamental to the process of becoming human.

Honors

• Member of the Pour le Mérite order , peace class (1952)
• Large Federal Cross of Merit with Star (December 20, 1955)
• Austrian Decoration of Honor for Science and Art (1958)
• Large Federal Cross of Merit with Star and Shoulder Ribbon (December 27, 1960)

Works

Independent publications

• History and life. On the educational tasks of teaching history and language. Leipzig / Berlin 1918; from the 2nd, changed edition with the subtitle Problems and Goals of Cultural Studies Education .
• Individual and community. Basic questions of social theory and ethics . Leipzig / Berlin 1919; from the 2nd, completely reworked edition 1924 with the subtitle Basics of the Philosophy of Culture ; 3rd edition, revised again. 1926.
• Knowledge and life. Studies on the structure, methods and occupation of science. Leipzig / Berlin 1923.
• The philosophy of the present and its influence on the ideal of education. Leipzig / Berlin 1925.
• Possibilities and limits of pedagogy. Treatises on the current situation of education and the theory of education. Leipzig / Berlin 1926.
• Lead or grow. A discussion of the basic pedagogical problem. Leipzig / Berlin 1927.
• Science, education, worldview. Leipzig / Berlin 1928.
• Kant and Herder as interpreters of the spiritual world. Leipzig 1930.
• Introduction to philosophy. Leipzig / Berlin 1933.
• Man's self-knowledge. Leipzig 1938.
• The German spirit and Christianity. On the nature of historical encounters. Klotz, Leipzig 1938, DNB 57463567X ; Reprinted as a joint edition: Fischer, Norderstedt; Leipziger Univ.-Verlag, Leipzig 1997, ISBN 3-926049-15-4 and ISBN 3-931922-55-3 .
• The general in the structure of knowledge in the humanities. Leipzig 1941.
• History and Responsibility. Wiesbaden 1947.
• Thinking and being. Stuttgart / Zurich 1948.
• Man and world. Basics of a philosophy of mind. Munich 1948.
• State authority and morality. Munich 1948.
• Paths and wrong ways of historical thought. Munich 1948.
• The story and the superhistory. Hamburg 1949.
• History and philosophy of history. Munich 1950.
• Man before history. Bremen 1950.
• Science and human education. Heidelberg 1952.
• Hegel. Attempt a critical renewal. Heidelberg 1953.
• The educational ideal of the German classic and the modern world of work. Bonn 1955.
• The reawakening of historical consciousness. Heidelberg 1956.
• Technical thinking and human education. Heidelberg 1957.
• Leibniz and the German Present. Wiesbaden 1947.
• Science and human education in the light of the East-West contrast. Heidelberg 1958.
• Freedom and order of life. On the philosophy and pedagogy of democracy. Heidelberg 1962.
• Pedagogy and culture. Small educational writings 1918–1926. Edited by F. Nicolin, Bad Heilbrunn 1965.

Essays

• The higher school and the problem of the unified school. In: Monthly for higher schools. 18 (1919), pp. 280-293.
• Hegel and the tasks of German youth. In: Jugendführer und Jugendprobleme (= Festschrift for Georg Kerschensteiner's 70th birthday ). Edited by Aloys Fischer, Eduard Spranger. Leipzig / Berlin 1930.
• Hegel's concept of "spirit" and the problem of tradition. In: Studium Generale. Volume 4. Springer, 1951, pp. 241-244.
• Guiding principles for the establishment of a realistic higher education system. In: Education and Upbringing. 5, pp. 241-244 (1952).
• Character building comes before knowledge building. In: Pedagogical truths and half-truths critically examined (= ceremony for Wilhelm Flitner on his 70th birthday ). Eduard Spranger. Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg 1959, DNB 455347247 , pp. 41-67.

Secondary literature

• Hans-Karl Beckmann: The educational mission of the school. In: F. Schmaderer (Ed.): The educational design of school life. Contributions to the implementation of the school's educational mandate (= school pedagogical aspects ). Ehrenwirth, Munich 1979, ISBN 3-431-02202-2 , pp. 29-41.
• Ursula Bracht: On the problem of human education with Theodor Litt. Studies on the theoretical problems in the complete works of Theodor Litt. Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrunn 1973, ISBN 3-7815-0192-2 .
• Holger Burckhart: Theodor Litt: The educational ideal of the German classic and the modern world of work. Darmstadt 2003.
• Thomas Friederich: Theodor Litt's warning against “too direct methods”. In: Deutsche Philosophen 1933. Ed. By Wolfgang Fritz Haug, Berlin 1989, pp. 99–124.
• Lorenz Funderburk: Experience, understanding, knowledge. Theodor Litt's system of philosophy from an epistemological point of view. Bonn 1971, ISBN 3-416-00729-8 .
• Hans Glöckel : About the class. Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrunn 1990, ISBN 3-7815-1254-1 .
• Wolfgang Klafki: Theodor Litt. In: Hans Scheuerl (Ed.): Classics of Pedagogy. Munich 1979.
• Wolfgang Klafki: Theodor Litt's pedagogy. A critical mindfulness. Scriptor, Königstein 1982, ISBN 3-589-20791-4 .
• Julia Kurig: Technology as a challenge for pedagogy in the 1950s: Theodor Litt's educational and subject theory for industrial society. In: Yearbook for Historical Educational Research 2014. Focus on machines (= Yearbook for Historical Educational Research. Volume 20, ISSN  0946-3879 ). Julius Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrunn 2015, ISBN 978-3-7815-2022-6 , pp. 219-264, urn : nbn: de: 0111-pedocs-145772 ( PDF; 4.2 MB ).
• Rudolf Lassahn: The Self-Image of Theodor Litt's Pedagogy. Ratingen 1968.
• Rudolf Lassahn: Theodor Litt. Munster 1970.
• Peter Müller:  Litt, Theodor. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-428-00195-8 , pp. 708-710 ( digitized version ).
• Peter Gutjahr-Löser , Hans-Helmuth Knütter , Friedrich Wilhelm Rothenpieler : Theodor Litt and the political education of the present (= reports and studies of the Hanns Seidel Foundation . Volume 31). Olzog, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-7892-9876-X .
• Friedhelm Nicolin (Ed.): Theodor Litt. Pedagogical analysis of his work. Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrunn 1973, ISBN 3-7815-0503-0 .
• Friedhelm Nicolin: Theodor Litt. In: Josef Speck (Hrsg.): History of pedagogy of the 20th century. Stuttgart 1977.
• Albert Reble : Theodor Litt. An introductory overview. Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrunn 1950, ISBN 3-7815-0737-8 .
• Wolfgang Ritzel: Philosophy and Education in the 20th Century. The philosophical endeavors of the 20th century. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1980, ISBN 3-534-02008-1 .
• Wolfgang M. Schwiedrzik : I would rather break stones. The philosopher and educator Theodor Litt in Leipzig. Leipzig 1996.
• Wolfgang Schulz: Investigations on the cultural theory Theodor Litts. New approaches to his work. German Studien-Verlag, Weinheim 1990, ISBN 3-89271-242-5 .
• Gerhard Steindorf: Learning and Knowledge. Theory of knowledge and the imparting of knowledge. Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrunn 1985, ISBN 3-7815-0576-6 .
• Theodor Litt Yearbook. Edited by the Theodor Litt Research Center of the University of Leipzig, Leipzig 1999 ff., ISSN  1439-1805

Web links

Commons : Theodor Litt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Theodor Litt in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Theodor Litt  in the German Digital Library
• Theodor Litt in the professorial catalog of the University of Leipzig
• Werner Flach : Theodor Litt's basic apprenticeship. Dedicated to the memory of Theodor Litt. In: iablis.de
• Harald Lönnecker : "... to hold up the core of this whole being and ... to love." Theodor Litt and the student connections. Frankfurt am Main 2005 (PDF; 288 kB) In: burschenschaftsgeschichte.de (first in: Dieter Schulz, Heinz-Werner Wollersheim [Ed.]: Theodor-Litt-Jahrbuch. 4 (2005), ISSN  0946-3879 , p. 189 -263).
  • First in: Dieter Schulz , Heinz-Werner Wollersheim (Hrsg.): Theodor-Litt-Jahrbuch. ISSN  1439-1805 . Volume 4, Leipziger Univ.-Verlag, [Leipzig] 2005, ISBN 3-86583-038-2 , pp. 189-263.
• Iris Mortag: Litt and the Soviet Zone / GDR. Third Theodor Litt Symposium. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 22, 2004 ; accessed on November 2, 2016 .  In: uni-leipzig.de. (= Excerpt from :) Journal of the University of Leipzig. No. 2, April 2000, ISSN  0947-1049 , p. 33 f. (= PDF-S. 35 f.) ( PDF; 34.2 MB )
• Gerald Wiemers : The estate of the educationalist and philosopher Theodor Litt. (PDF; 43 kB) In: kobv.de
• Wolfgang Klafki: The current controversies in German educational science about the relationship between humanities education and National Socialism. In: uni-marburg.de
• Littstrasse (with a photograph of Litts). In: uni-leipzig.de
• Theodor Litt Society. In: uni-leipzig.de (with links to the Theodor Litt Symposion, archive, research center, publications and Theodor Litt Prize )
• Personnel form from Theodor Litt in the personnel file of the BIL expert body in the archive database of the Library for Research on Educational History (BBF)
• Theodor Litt in the Lexicon of Westphalian Authors
• Video: Theodor Litt speaks about the task of philosophy in the present, Bonn 1959 . Institute for Scientific Film (IWF) 1961, made available by the Technical Information Library (TIB), doi : 10.3203 / IWF / G-51 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Association Age SVler: Address book. Membership directory of all old men. Frankenthal 1953, p. 69.
2. ^ Heide Bremer: Theodor Litt's attitude to National Socialism. With special consideration of his lecture from 1933 to 1937. Bad Heilbrunn 2005, p. 76.
3. ^ Ernst Klee : The dictionary of persons on the Third Reich . Who was what before and after 1945. 2nd, updated edition. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN 978-3-596-16048-8 , p. 375. - Of course, this alleged signature can hardly be combined with Litt's following statement: “In response to a letter from a group of students asking whether he did not take sufficient account of the ethnic element and the importance of the biological in his philosophy, Litt added a personal word in his answer to the matter [...] '... Should I stand under the swastika flag , should I raise my right hand to the sky and conjure up with it and exclaim in a pleading voice: "Dear friends, I am with you too, I am also national!" If you don't see what indignity is behind it; that they ask me to do the morally impossible? What do you ask? One demands unconditional submission to the party program, to all points of the party program! It's impossible for me, I just can't! [...] '“Quoted in abbreviated form from: Peter Gutjahr-Löser : Did Theodor Litt crawl to swastikas in November 1933? In: Peter Gutjahr-Löser, Dieter Schulz, Heinz-Werner Wollersheim (eds.): Science and academic education. Is Theodor Litt relevant to current university policy? (= Theodor Litt Yearbook. Volume 7). Leipziger Univ.-Verlag, [Leipzig] 2010, ISBN 978-3-86583-527-7 , pp. 254–264, here p. 256.
4. ↑ For the argumentation of this book, see The German Spirit and Christianity in Fontanefan. In: fontanefan.blogspot.com. December 6, 2010, accessed December 6, 2010.
5. ^ Members of the SAW: Theodor Litt. Saxon Academy of Sciences, accessed on November 14, 2016 . 
6. ↑ Deceased members: Prof. Dr. Theodor Litt. Bavarian Academy of Sciences, accessed on November 14, 2016 . 
7. ^ Members of the predecessor academies: Theodor Litt. Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, accessed on November 14, 2016 . 
8. ^ Albert Reble: Theodor Litt. An introductory overview . Julius Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrunn 1996, ISBN 3-7815-0737-8 , p. 23 .
9. ^ Kurt Wuchterl : Building blocks for a history of the philosophy of the 20th century by Husserl zu Heidegger. Bern u. a. 1995, p. 253 ff.
10. ↑ Leading and letting grow. Stuttgart 1952, p. 89.
11. ↑ Munich 1948, p. 24.
12. ↑ The culture of the present. 1921, p. 293
13. ↑ Leading and letting grow. P. 119.
14. ↑ Leading and letting grow. P. 120.
15. ↑ ^{a b} Federal President's Office.
16. ↑ “[…] Litt's political position in the Weimar Republic was that of a conservative-liberal Republican of reason. Out of insight into the socio-political conditions of the time, he clearly committed himself to the binding nature of the constitution of the Weimar Republic and, during the crisis years at the end of the Weimar period, took an unequivocal position against right-wing and left-wing extremist threats to the rule of law and the autonomy of the universities . His national attitude was at no point in danger of turning into nationalism, and he has never given cause to be misunderstood in this sense. In the first years after 1933 he - as one of the very few university lecturers in what was then Germany - had the courage to openly criticize racial theory and the historical conception of National Socialism in publications . [...] "