Hermann Schweppenhäuser: Philosophie und Gesellschaft I

The third volume of the collected writings of Hermann Schweppenhäuser contains systematic discussions of social philosophical concepts in the first part, essays with a focus on the history of philosophy (from the late 18th to the end of the 19th century) in the second part, and texts related to academic philosophical teaching in the third part. The volume is complemented by a letter from Theodor W. Adorno from 1960 and an afterword by Schweppenhäuser's long-time colleague Günther Mensching. A specific combination of sharp criticism of the usual and conventional with a profound reflection on the binding nature of past intellectual testimonies characterizes, beyond the founders of the Frankfurt School, the thinking of Hermann Schweppenhäuser. The complexity of his style makes the effort palpable to think together the continuity and radical discontinuity of European culture, especially that of Germany. No other member of the school has devoted himself to his subjects as passionately as he has.