Heinrich John Rickert (; 25 May 1863 – 25 July 1936) was a German

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, one of the leading neo-Kantians.

Life

Rickert was born in Danzig,

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

(now

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

) to the

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and later

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

Heinrich Edwin Rickert Heinrich Edwin Rickert (27 December 1833 – 3 November 1902) was a German journalist and liberal politician. He was the father of the philosopher Heinrich Rickert. Biography Rickert was born in Putzig, West Prussia (Puck, Poland), his father ...

and Annette née Stoddart. He was professor of philosophy at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

(1894–1915) and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

(1915–1932). He died in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Philosophy

He is known for his discussion of a qualitative distinction held to be made between historical and scientific facts. Contrary to philosophers like

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...

and

Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson

, Rickert emphasized that

values In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of di ...

demand a distance from life, and that what

, Dilthey or Simmel called "vital values" were not true values. Rickert's philosophy was an important influence on the work of sociologist

Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas p ...

. Weber is said to have borrowed much of his methodology, including the

concept Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs. They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by ...

of the

ideal type Ideal type (german: Idealtypus), also known as pure type, is a typological term most closely associated with sociologist Max Weber (1864–1920). For Weber, the conduct of social science depends upon the construction of abstract, hypothetical con ...

, from Rickert's work. Also,

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centu ...

started out his academic career as Rickert's assistant, graduated with him and then wrote his

habilitation thesis Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

under Rickert. Charles R. Bambach writes:

In his work Rickert, like Dilthey, intended to offer a unifying theory of
knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distin ...
which, although accepting a division between science and history or ''Natur'' and ''Geist'', overcame this division in a new philosophical method. For Dilthey the method was wedded to
hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate ...
; for Rickert it was the transcendental method of Kant.Bambach, Charles R. ''Heidegger, Dilthey and the Crisis of Historicism''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995
30
/ref>

Rickert, with

Wilhelm Windelband Wilhelm Windelband (; ; 11 May 1848 – 22 October 1915) was a German philosopher of the Baden School. Biography Windelband was born the son of a Prussian official in Potsdam. He studied at Jena, Berlin, and Göttingen. Philosophical work Win ...

, led the so-called

Baden school In late modern continental philosophy, neo-Kantianism (german: Neukantianismus) was a revival of the 18th-century philosophy of Immanuel Kant. The Neo-Kantians sought to develop and clarify Kant's theories, particularly his concept of the "thin ...

of neo-Kantians.

Works

* ''Zur Lehre von der Definition'' 'On the Theory of Definition''(1888) (

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

)
Center for Research libraries, crl.edu
2nd. ed., 1915. 3rd ed., 1929. * ''Der Gegenstand der Erkenntnis: ein Beitrag zum Problem der philosophischen Transcendenz'' (1892)
Google (UCal)
** 2nd ed., 1904: ''Der Gegenstand der Erkenntnis: Einführung in die Transzendentalphilosophie''
Google (UMich)
* ''Die Grenzen der naturwissenschaftlichen Begriffsbildung'' (1896–1902). 2 volumes
Google (NYPL)
2nd ed., 1913. ** ''The Limits of Concept Formation in Natural Science'' (1986). (Tr. Guy Oakes.) * ''Fichtes Atheismusstreit und die kantische Philosophie'' (1899)
Google (UCal)IA (UToronto)
* ''Kulturwissenschaft und Naturwissenschaft'' (1899)
6th/7th revised and expanded ed., 1926.
** ''Science and history: A critique of positivist epistemology'' (1962). (Tr. George Reisman.) * "Geschichtsphilosophie" in ''Die Philosophie im Beginn des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts'' (1905). 2 volumes
Vol. 2, pp. 51–135
* ''Die Probleme der Geschichtsphilosophie: eine Einführung'', 3rd ed., 1924. New ed.: Celtis Verlag, Berlin 2013, * ''Wilhelm Windelband'' (1915). * ''Die Philosophie des Lebens: Darstellung und Kritik der philosophischen Modeströmungen unserer Zeit'' (1920)
IA (UToronto)
2nd ed., 1922. * ''Allgemeine Grundlegung der Philosophie'' (1921). 'System der Philosophie'' vol. 1* ''Kant als Philosoph der modernen Kultur'' (1924). * ''Über die Welt der Erfahrung'' (1927). * ''Die Logik des Prädikats und das Problem der Ontologie'' (1930). * ''Die Heidelberger Tradition in der Deutschen Philosophie'' (1931). * ''Goethes Faust'' (1932). * ''Grundprobleme der Philosophie: Methodologie, Ontologie, Anthropologie'' (1934). * ''Unmittelbarkeit und Sinndeutung'' (1939).

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rickert, Heinrich 1863 births 1936 deaths 19th-century essayists 19th-century German non-fiction writers 19th-century German philosophers 20th-century essayists 20th-century German non-fiction writers 20th-century German philosophers Continental philosophers Epistemologists German male essayists German male non-fiction writers Heidelberg University faculty Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Kantian philosophers Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Metaphysicians Ontologists People from the Province of Prussia Philosophers of education Philosophers of history Philosophers of logic Philosophers of mind Philosophers of science Philosophers of social science Philosophy academics Philosophy writers University of Freiburg faculty University of Strasbourg alumni Writers from Gdańsk

Life

Philosophy

Works

Notes

References

Further reading

References