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The Role of Philosophy and the Humanities in West Germany After 1945 University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations Fall 2009 Overcoming the Empty Years: the Role of Philosophy and the Humanities in West Germany after 1945 Nicholas E. Di Liberto University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Cultural History Commons, European History Commons, and the Intellectual History Commons Recommended Citation Di Liberto, Nicholas E., "Overcoming the Empty Years: the Role of Philosophy and the Humanities in West Germany after 1945" (2009). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 89. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/89 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/89 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Overcoming the Empty Years: the Role of Philosophy and the Humanities in West Germany after 1945 Abstract The close relationships formed between teachers and students in the materially impoverished and politically compromised postwar universities in western Germany are the central focus of this dissertation. I analyze how a divided generation of politically overburdened intellectual youth negotiated the new possibilities opened up by the collapse of cultural restrictions imposed by the twelve-year dictatorship and the new expectations, stemming from the changing ideas and realities of the university and philosophy in an expanding middle-class, consumerist society. In spite of the limitations of their institutional and cultural environment, the younger philosophers and intellectuals I investigate develop highly productive models for the practice of philosophy and the ‘human sciences’ (Geisteswissenschaften), which have relevance beyond their own specific historical situation, national boundaries, and interests. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group History First Advisor Warren Breckman Second Advisor Frank Trommler Third Advisor Thomas Childers Keywords philosophy, the humanities, West Germany, Martin Heidegger, Existentialism, university life, professionalization Subject Categories Cultural History | European History | Intellectual History This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/89 ii In Memory of J. V. S. (1964-2003) iii Acknowledgments At the end of a long project, one becomes acutely aware of their own limitations. While cause for my own sense of uneasiness in bringing this work to a close, this moment also provides the happy occasion of acknowledging that I could not have reached this point alone. This realization—that I needn’t go it alone—is at least as important as any of the intellectual insights or practical know-how that I have accumulated through the course of researching and writing this dissertation. In any case, it was only after I sought the help of friends and colleagues that this project really progressed to its final stages. Much of the primary research for this project was conducted in Germany during two six-moth stays in 2004-2005 and in 2007. The first was made possible by a non- service fellowship from the University of Pennsylvania as well as a travel grant from the Department of History. The more recent stay was supported by the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, which also provided me the opportunity to conduct research and writing at an excellent host institution, the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms- Universität Bonn. I owe a great debt of gratitude to the Institut für Germanistik and to my Gastgeber, Prof. Dr. Helmut Schneider for providing me an exceptional environment in which to work and also the opportunity to present my project before colleagues in the German Graduate Seminar. The Landes- und Universitätsbibliothek and its archive iv provided extremely valuable primary source materials for this project, particularly the Nachlass of Erich Rothacker. The fellows and archivists in Bonn were highly professional, efficient, and at the same time very patient and friendly. Both in Winter 2005 and again in Spring 2007, I was able to conduct research at the Deutsches Literatur-Archiv in Marbach am Nekar. The materials there have proven invaluable for this project and will no doubt continue to direct my future work on postwar German culture and intellectual life. The staff and research fellows at the DLA in Marbach were extremely encouraging and helpful. I would like to thank in particular Dr. Carsten Dutt and Dr. Marcel Lepper for their expert assistance with the archives of Hans- Georg Gadamer and Hans Blumenberg and for their general support of my work. Finally, the director of the DLA, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Raulff was a great source of information and of encouragement both at the archive and during a visit here at the University of Pennsylvania. Here at the University of Pennsylvania my work on this dissertation, indeed, my entire career as a graduate student, has been directed by a remarkable group of scholars. I must first thank Frank Trommler in the German Department for his unfailing support of my work over the many years it has taken me to complete it. Professor Trommler’s expertise and his work on postwar German culture has influenced my own thinking beyond reckoning. Thomas Childers has also proven to be a constant source of personal support and intellectual inspiration. My greatest debt is owed to Warren Breckman, my Doktorvater. He has shepherded me through my graduate career from the beginning. I have benefitted from his keen understanding of European intellectual history and his v constant pragmatic advice about how best to craft this project and recognize its limits. I simply would not have finished were it not for his encouragement and belief in my ability. Finally, I also wish to thank Liliane Weissberg for intellectual and professional advice and for aiding me in establishing contacts with German scholars. All of these people have been not only instructors and mentors, but also great friends. Some of the most interesting material for this project came from personal interviews with three of the leading minds of postwar German philosophy. My conversations with Prof. Dr. Dieter Henrich, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Habermas, and Prof. Dr. Hermann Lübbe were the most memorable, intellectually invigorating moments of my research. I was honored by the time and attention they devoted to my questions and happily surprised by their cheerfulness in recounting the experiences of the Lehrjahre and above all the memories of their teachers. The material drawn from these interviews helped make this set of historical problems come alive for me. The greatest source of support came from my friends and colleagues here at Penn. I would like to thank in particular, Sarah Van Beurden, who spent many hours discussing ideas, in writing sessions, and who provided moments comfort, enjoyment, and moral support. My greatest intellectual debt is owed to my friend Ben Mercer. It is quite difficult for me to tell at points in this work where my thoughts end and his begin. Without his help, I would not have come this far. Also, I simply want to thank all of my friends at Penn, particularly those who can recall the spirit of convivial sessions at pubs and apartments around Philadelphia and in Europe and who share in the feeling of loss for the one to whom this work is dedicated—who we affectionately nicknamed ‘Proust.’ vi Finally, I would like to thank my family and loved ones, who had to endure me these past years. I particularly want to thank my parents, Ed and Sandy, for their love and support. Lastly and most importantly, I thank my wife, Susan. She is a constant source of happiness, love, and encouragement and my intellectual and spiritual partner for life. vii ABSTRACT OVERCOMING THE EMPTY YEARS: THE ROLE OF PHILOSOPHY AND THE HUMANITIES IN WEST GERMANY AFTER 1945 Nicholas E. Di Liberto Supervised by Warren Breckman The close relationships formed between teachers and students in the materially impoverished and politically compromised postwar universities in western Germany are the central focus of this dissertation. I analyze how a divided generation of politically overburdened intellectual youth negotiated the new possibilities opened up by the collapse of cultural restrictions imposed by the twelve-year dictatorship and the new expectations, stemming from the changing ideas and realities of the university and philosophy in an expanding middle-class, consumerist society. In spite of the limitations of their institutional and cultural environment, the younger philosophers and intellectuals I investigate develop highly productive models for the practice of philosophy and the ‘human sciences’ (Geisteswissenschaften), which have relevance beyond their own specific historical situation, national boundaries, and interests. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Chapter 1: The Generation of German Postwar Philosophy……………………………..13 Chapter 2: The Philosopher after 1945: Political Continuities and the Burden of Legends from the Past……………………………………………………………………………..90 Chapter 3: The “Freedom of Emptiness” for Teachers and Students amidst the Strictures of a New Professionalism………………………………………………………………146 Chapter 4: The Task of Philosophy inside the University and in Scientific Culture…..194 Chapter 5: Redefining Tradition beyond ‘Provincialism’ and the Limits of Institutional Change……………………………………………………………………………........256 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..313 1 Introduction The Problems Stated German scholars
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