Dieter Henrich

{{Short description|German philosopher (1927–2022)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Use British English|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox philosopher | region = [[Western philosophy]] | era = [[Contemporary philosophy]] | birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|1|5|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Marburg]], Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, Weimar Republic | death_date = {{death date and age|2022|12|17|1927|1|5|df=y}} | death_place = [[Munich]], Bavaria, Germany | thesis_title = Die Einheit der Wissenschaftslehre Max Webers (The Unity of Max Weber's Epistemology) | thesis_url = https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/henrich1952 | thesis_year = 1950 | doctoral_advisor = [[Hans-Georg Gadamer]] | education = {{Plainlist| * [[University of Marburg]] * [[Goethe University Frankfurt]] * [[Heidelberg University]] (PhD, 1950) }} | institutions = {{Plainlist| * [[LMU Munich]] * [[Humboldt University of Berlin]] * Heidelberg University * [[Harvard University]] * [[Columbia University]] }} | school_tradition = [[Continental philosophy]]<br>{{ill|Heidelberg School (philosophy)|de|Heidelberger Schule (Philosophie)|lt=Heidelberg School}} | main_interests = [[Philosophy of subjectivity]] and [[Self-awareness|self-consciousness]], [[history of philosophy]], [[aesthetics]] | notable_ideas = {{Flatlist| * The epistemic self-relation * [[Fichte's original insight]] * [[Kantian fallacy]] }} | signature = Unterschrift Dieter Henrich.jpg | doctoral_students = [[Manfred Frank]]<br>[[Hans Friedrich Fulda]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Plevrakis |first=Ermylos |date=2024-05-29 |title=In Memoriam Hans Friedrich Fulda (1930–2023) |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/hegel-bulletin/article/in-memoriam-hans-friedrich-fulda-19302023/935CABE39CA01995C4BD899FE252E545 |journal=Hegel Bulletin |language=en |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1017/hgl.2024.29 |issn=2051-5367|doi-access=free }}</ref><br>[[Panagiotis Kondylis]] }}

'''Dieter Henrich''' (5 January 1927 – 17 December 2022) was a German philosopher. A contemporary thinker in the tradition of [[German idealism]], Henrich is considered "one of the most respected and frequently cited philosophers in Germany today", whose "extensive and highly innovative studies of German Idealism and his systematic analyses of [[subjectivity]] have significantly impacted on advanced German philosophical and [[theological]] debates."<ref name="Freundlieb">{{cite book |last=Freundlieb |first=Dieter |title=Dieter Henrich and Contemporary Philosophy: The Return to Subjectivity |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7546-1344-2 |page=206}}</ref>

== Biography == Henrich was born in [[Marburg]],<ref name="Kaube" /> on 5 January 1927,<ref name="Munzinger">{{Cite web |title= Dieter Henrich / deutscher Philosoph; Prof. em.; Dr. phil |url=https://www.munzinger.de/search/portrait/Dieter+Henrich/0/24718.html |access-date=21 December 2022 |website=Munzinger-Archiv |date=21 October 2021 |language=en}}</ref> the son of Hans Harry Henrich, who worked in survey services, and his wife Frieda née Blum. Because his three siblings died at early ages, he grew up a single child; his father died when he was eleven.<ref name="Munzinger" /> Henrich earned his ''[[Abitur]]'' from the humanistic [[Gymnasium Philippinum]] in Marburg in 1946.<ref name="Munzinger" />

Henrich studied philosophy, history and sociology between 1946 and 1950 at [[University of Marburg|Marburg]], [[Goethe University Frankfurt|Frankfurt]] and [[University of Heidelberg|Heidelberg]].<ref name="Munzinger" /> He completed his PhD [[dissertation]] at Heidelberg in 1950 under the supervision of [[Hans-Georg Gadamer]].<ref name="Stosiek" /> The thesis title was ''Die Einheit der Wissenschaftslehre Max Webers'' (''The unity of [[Max Weber]]'s [[epistemology]]''). He wrote his [[habilitation]] in 1956, titled ''Selbstbewusstsein und Sittlichkeit''.<ref name="Munzinger" /> Henrich was professor at the [[Humboldt University of Berlin]] from 1960 to 1965, at the University of Heidelberg from 1965 to 1981, and at [[LMU Munich]] from 1981 to 1994, instructing generations of philosophers in standards of interpreting classical texts.<ref name="Kaube" /> He was also a visiting professor at universities in the [[United States]], such as [[Harvard University|Harvard]] and [[Columbia University|Columbia]].<ref name="Harvard" />

Henrich died on 17 December 2022 at age 95.<ref name="Kaube">{{cite news |last=Kaube |first=Jürgen |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/zum-tod-des-philosophen-dieter-henrich-schachmeister-des-denkens-18543998.html |title=Zum Tod von Dieter Henrich : Schachmeister des Denkens |date=18 December 2022 |newspaper=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung |language=de |access-date=21 December 2022 }}</ref><ref name="Stosiek">{{cite news |last=Stosiek |first=Tobias |url=https://www.br.de/nachrichten/kultur/buergerlicher-philosoph-zum-tod-von-dieter-henrich,TQSqYSe |title="Bürgerlicher Philosoph": Zum Tod von Dieter Henrich |date=19 December 2022 |work=Bayerischer Rundfunk |language=de |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="Hutter">{{cite news |last=Hutter |first=Axel |url=https://www.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de/lehreinheiten/philosophie_2/aktuelles/nachruf-henrich/index.html |title=Abschied von Prof. Dr. Dieter Henrich |date=21 December 2022 |publisher=Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München |language=de |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="Allert">{{cite news |last=Allert |first=Tilman |url=https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/dieter-henrich-ist-gestorben-das-letzte-buch-ist-ein-vermaechtnis-ld.1717733 |title=Die Liebe macht uns zu dem, was wir sein können: Der Philosoph Dieter Henrich ist gestorben – in seinem letzten Buch hat er nach dem Geheimnis des Liebens gesucht |date=19 December 2022 |newspaper=Neue Zürcher Zeitung |language=de |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref>

== Philosophical work == In 1966, Henrich introduced the term '''Fichte's original insight'''<ref>Dieter Henrich. [https://phil880.colinmclear.net/materials/readings/henrich-fichte.pdf "Fichte's Original Insight"], ''Contemporary German Philosophy'' 1 (1982), 15–52 (translation of Henrich, Dieter (1966), "Fichtes ursprüngliche Einsicht", in: ''Subjektivität und Metaphysik. Festschrift für Wolfgang Cramer'' edited by D. Henrich und H. Wagner, Frankfurt/M., pp. 188–232).</ref> (''Fichtes ursprüngliche Einsicht'') to describe [[Johann Gottlieb Fichte]]'s idea that the self must already have some prior acquaintance with itself, independent of the act of [[self-reflection]]. Henrich's essay "Fichtes ursprüngliche Einsicht" (1966) is now regarded as the founding text of the '''Heidelberg School of philosophy of subjectivity''' (''Heidelberger Schule''). He noted that Fichte saw the [[transcendental subject]] as a primordial selfhood<ref>{{cite book |first1=Judith Rebecca |last1=Norman |title=The Idea of Intellectual Intuition from Kant to Hegel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=473QAAAAMAAJ |publisher=University of Wisconsin—Madison |date=1995 |page=95 |via=Google Books}}</ref> and identified its activity as prior to self-reflection. He also introduced the term '''Kantian fallacy''' to describe [[Immanuel Kant]]'s attempt to ground the self in pure self-reflection, positing the moment of self-reflection as the original source of [[self-consciousness]]<ref>Michael Ferber (ed.), ''A Companion to European Romanticism'', John Wiley & Sons, 2008, p. 108.</ref> (see also [[pre-reflective self-consciousness]]). His thinking was focused on the mystery of self-consciousness. He pointed out that the evidence of self-consciousness was not really self-evident, but rather obscure, possibly the manifestation of a reason concealed in the clarity of self-consciousness and eluding thought ("''die offenkundige Manifestation eines Grundes, der sich in der Klarheit des Selbstbewußtseins gleichsam verbirgt und dem Denken entzieht''").<ref name="Hutter" />

Henrich's 1973 lecture course on [[German idealism]] introduced contemporary currents in German philosophy to American audiences. Since then his lectures have been published as ''Between Kant and Hegel'' (2003), which show the continuity between German idealism and contemporary philosophical attitudes.<ref name="Harvard">{{Cite web |title=Between Kant and Hegel – Dieter Henrich, David S. Pacini |url=https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674027374 |access-date=11 March 2021 |publisher=Harvard University |language=en}}</ref> Henrich introduced the idea that I-thoughts (what he also called "the epistemic self-relation" [''Das wissende Selbstverhältnis'']) imply a belief in the existence of a world of objects.<ref name="Freundlieb" />

== Awards == * 1995: Friedrich-Hölderlin-Preis, [[University of Tübingen]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Friedrich-Hölderlin-Preis |year=2015 |publisher=Tübingen |language=de |url=https://www.tuebingen.de/9101.html |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref> * 1999: Honorary doctorate in theology of the [[University of Münster]]<ref name="Hanke">{{cite web |last=Hanke |first=Thomas |title=Nachruf auf Dieter Henrich (1927–2022) |date=December 2022 |publisher=University of Münster |language=de |url=https://www.uni-muenster.de/FB2/aktuelles/Dieter_Henrich_Sterbemitteilung.html |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref> * 2003: [[Hegel Prize]] of the City of [[Stuttgart]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Hegel-Preis der Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart |publisher=Hegel Prize |location=Stuttgart |year=2021 |language=de |url=https://www.stuttgart.de/kultur/kulturpreise-und-stipendien/hegel-preis.php |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref> * 2002: Honorary doctorate in theology of the [[University of Marburg]]<ref name="Innovation">{{cite web |title=Dr. Leopold-Lucas-Preisträger des Jahres 2008: Dieter Henrich, München |year=2008 |website=innovations-report.de |language=de |url=https://www.innovations-report.de/sonderthemen/foerderungen-preise/bericht-102854/ |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref> * 2004: Internationaler Kant-Preis, ZEIT-Stiftung<ref name="wbg">{{cite web |title=Dieter Henrich: Grundlegung aus dem Ich |website=wbg-wissenverbindet.de |year=2022 |language=de |url=https://www.wbg-wissenverbindet.de/shop/42873/dieter-henrich-grundlegung-aus-dem-ich-3-hc-baende-erstmals-mit-quellenband |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref> * 2005: Honorary doctorate in philosophy of the [[University of Jena]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Ehrendoktoren und Ehrendoktorinnen der Fakultäten der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena seit 1990 |publisher=University of Jena |year=2022 |language=de |url=https://www.uni-jena.de/bedeutende-persoenlichkeiten |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref> * 2006: Deutscher Sprachpreis<ref>{{cite web |title="Deutscher Sprachpreis" 2006 für Dieter Henrich |website=presseportal.de |date=28 April 2008 |language=de |url=https://www.presseportal.de/pm/18931/816474 |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref> * 2006: [[Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Dieter Henrich |website=badw.de |year=2022 |language=de |url=https://badw.de/gelehrtengemeinschaft/preistraeger.html?tx_badwdb_badwperson%5Baction%5D=show&tx_badwdb_badwperson%5Bcontroller%5D=BADWPerson&tx_badwdb_badwperson%5BpartialType%5D=BADWPersonDetailsPartial&tx_badwdb_badwperson%5Bper_id%5D=1251&cHash=703b17cd592353cc9a343df2fae7f3c0 |access-date=21 December 2022}}</ref> * 2008: Dr. Leopold-Lucas-Preis, University of Tübingen<ref name="Innovation" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Henrich |first=Dieter |title=Endlichkeit und Sammlung des Lebens |year=2009 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |location=Tübingen |isbn=978-3-16-149948-7 |page=149 |url=http://www.mohr.de/en/philosophy/subject-areas/all-books/buch/endlichkeit-und-sammlung-des-lebens.html }}</ref> * 2008: Kuno-Fischer-Preis, [[Heidelberg University]]<ref name="wbg" />

== Selected works == * {{cite book | title=Die Einheit der Wissenschaftslehre Max Webers | year=1952 | publisher=Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr | doi=10.11588/DIGLIT.52825 | url=https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/henrich1952 |type=dissertation | language=de | access-date=21 December 2022| last1=Henrich | first1=Dieter }} * ''Hegel im Kontext''. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 1971. {{ISBN|978-3-518-29538-0}} {{OCLC|521501603}} ** {{Cite journal |last=Henrich |first=Dieter |date=2018-10-15 |title=Beginning and Method of (the) Logic |url=https://lineofbeauty.org/index.php/sjournal/article/view/22 |journal=S: Journal of the Circle for Lacanian Ideology Critique |language=en |volume=11 |pages=31–48 |issn=1874-9062}} * ''Der Grund im Bewußtsein. Untersuchungen zu Hölderlins Denken (1794/95)''. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1992. {{ISBN|3-608-91613-X}} (2. erw. Aufl. 2004) * ''The Unity of Reason: Essays on Kant's Philosophy'', Harvard University Press, 1994. {{ISBN|0-674-92905-5}} * ''Versuch über Kunst und Leben. Subjektivität – Weltverstehen – Kunst''. München: Carl Hanser, 2001. {{ISBN|3-446-19857-1}} * ''Fixpunkte. Abhandlungen und Essays zur Theorie der Kunst''. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 2003. {{ISBN|3-518-29210-2}} * (with David S. Pacini) ''Between Kant and Hegel: Lectures on German Idealism''. Harvard University Press, 2003. {{ISBN|0-674-00773-5}} * ''Grundlegung aus dem Ich. Untersuchungen zur Vorgeschichte des Idealismus. Tübingen – Jena 1790–1794''. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 2004. {{ISBN|3-518-58384-0}} * ''Die Philosophie im Prozeß der Kultur''. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 2006. {{ISBN|978-3-518-29412-3}} * ''Endlichkeit und Sammlung des Lebens'', Mohr Siebeck, 2009 {{ISBN|978-3-16-149948-7}} * ''Furcht ist nicht in der Liebe. Philosophische Betrachtungen zu einem Satz des Evangelisten Johannes.'' Verlag Vittorio Klostermann, Frankfurt, 2022<ref name="Allert" /> {{ISBN|978-3-465-03418-6}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == * {{cite book | last=Freundlieb | first=Dieter | title=Dieter Henrich and Contemporary Philosophy | publisher=Routledge | publication-place=Milton | date=2017-10-27 | isbn=978-1-138-25801-3 |page=137}} * {{cite book | last=Prager | first=Brad | title=Aesthetic Vision and German Romanticism | publisher=Camden House | publication-place=Columbia, S.C | date=2010 | isbn=978-1-57113-470-7 |page=8}} * {{cite book | last=Redding | first=Paul | title=Hegel's Hermeneutics | publisher=Cornell University Press | publication-place=Ithaca, N.Y London | date=1996 | isbn=978-0-8014-8345-5 |page=54}} * {{cite book | last=Seigel | first=Jerrold | title=The Idea of the Self: Thought and Experience in Western Europe since the Seventeenth Century | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=17 February 2005 | isbn=978-0-521-84417-8 | doi=10.1017/cbo9780511818141 | url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9780511818141/type/book | access-date=5 April 2026 |p=366}}

== External links == * [http://www.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de/lehreinheiten/philosophie_2/personen/henrich/index.html Dieter Henrich] at [[LMU Munich]] {{In lang|de}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henrich, Dieter}} [[Category:1927 births]] [[Category:2022 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century German philosophers]] [[Category:21st-century German philosophers]] [[Category:Columbia University staff]] [[Category:Continental philosophers]] [[Category:German epistemologists]] [[Category:Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin]] [[Category:Academic staff of Heidelberg University]] [[Category:People from Marburg]] [[Category:People from Hesse-Nassau]] [[Category:Harvard University staff]] [[Category:Scholars of modern philosophy]] [[Category:German philosophers of art]] [[Category:German scholars of Hegel]]