Werner Becker (philosopher)

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Werner Becker (1983)

Werner Becker (born February 21, 1937 in Lauterbach (Hesse) ; † July 21, 2009 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German philosopher .

life and work

Werner Becker received his doctorate in 1963 under Theodor Adorno and was one of his last assistants. After completing his habilitation, he was appointed professor of philosophy at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main in 1971 . In vivid text analyzes, he subjected works by Hegel and Marx to immanent and external criticism. This found a certain conclusion with the books The Achilles Heel of Marxism and Critique of Marxian Value Theory , in which he tried to expose the “methodical irrationality” of the fundamental theories of capital . In 1982 Becker published his analytical plea for the liberal democracy The Freedom We Mean . Here he shows that liberal democracy has its own philosophy, with the help of which it can be aggressively defended against ideological attacks from the right and left. In 1987 Becker accepted a professorship at the Center for Philosophy and Fundamentals of Science at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen , where he researched and taught until his retirement in 2002. He was also visiting professor at the University of Saarland , the University of Mannheim , the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich , the Karl Franzens University Graz (Austria) and the University of Wisconsin – Madison (WI / USA).

The dilemma of human existence is Becker's last book, “dedicated in friendship” to his colleague from Giessen, Odo Marquard . Here Becker shows that the individuality consciousness is tied to the overcoming of the dilemma, even emerged as a reaction to the fact that every human being knows about his finitude, but cannot so easily “endure” to exist with death as the end of life.

From 1988 to 1993 he was managing director of the General Society for Philosophy in Germany, 1991/1992 founding director of the Institute for Philosophy at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena and from 1996 to 2001 scientific director of the Merton Lectures at Deutsche Börse AG .

Since 1992 he was a member of the Collegium Europaeum Jenense , from 1992 to 1995 President of the Institut International de Philosophie Politique in Paris.

honors and awards

  • 1995 - Schiller Medal from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena
  • 1997 - Medaille d'honneur de la Fondation Singer-Polignac ( Académie française )

Publications

  • Hegel's concept of dialectic and the principle of idealism. On the systematic criticism of the logical and phenomenological dialectics . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1969
  • Idealistic and materialistic dialectics. The relationship between domination and servitude in Hegel and Marx . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1970, 2nd edition 1972
  • Hegel's Phenomenology of Mind. An interpretation . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1971
  • Critique of Marx's theory of values. The methodical irrationality of the basic economic theories of capital. Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1972. ISBN 3-455-09071-0
  • Confidence and Speculation. On the critique of transcendental philosophy . Rombach, Freiburg i. Br. 1972. ISBN 3-7930-0973-4
  • The Achilles heel of Marxism, the contradiction between capital and labor . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1974. ISBN 3-455-09156-3
  • The freedom we mean. Decision for liberal democracy . Piper, Munich and Zurich 1982. 2nd edition 1984. ISBN 3-492-02761-X
  • The struggle for peace. Opposition or enmity - the political question of fate . Piper, Munich and Zurich 1984. ISBN 3-492-00654-X
  • Elements of democracy . Reclam, Stuttgart 1985. ISBN 3-15-008009-6
  • The dilemma of human existence. The evolution of individuality and the knowledge of death . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart ISBN 3-17-016423-6

Approx. 50 articles on foreign and domestic politics, especially democracy, in Frankfurter Neue Presse , Frankfurter Allgemeine , Die Welt .

Web links