HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Karl-Otto Apel (; 15 March 1922 – 15 May 2017) 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 ...
and Professor Emeritus at the
University of Frankfurt am Main Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...
. He specialized on the
philosophy of language In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of meaning, intentionality, reference, the ...
and was thus considered a communication theorist. He developed a distinctive philosophical approach which he called " transcendental pragmatics."


Life

Apel grew up during the political crises of the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
. In 1940, he was a war volunteer with his entire graduating class. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Apel studied from 1945 to 1950 at the
University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...
, first history and
intellectual history Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual histor ...
, before he committed himself as a student of Erich Rothacker on
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some s ...
. In 1950, he received his doctorate from Bonn with a thesis on
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 centur ...
.


Academic positions

Apel was appointed lecturer at the
University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...
in 1961. He was a full professor of philosophy at the
University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded ...
from 1962 to 1969, at the University of Saarbrücken from 1969 to 1972, and at the
University of Frankfurt am Main Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...
from 1972 to 1990. In 1990, he transferred to
emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
status. He has held a number of visiting and guest professorships at universities around the world. He was made a Member of the
Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...
in 1989 and a Full Member of the Academia Scientiarum et Artium Europaea in 1993. In 2001, he was awarded the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellec ...
.


Philosophical work

Apel worked in
ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
, the
philosophy of language In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of meaning, intentionality, reference, the ...
and
human sciences Human science (or human sciences in the plural), also known as humanistic social science and moral science (or moral sciences), studies the philosophical, biological, social, and cultural aspects of human life. Human science aims to expand our u ...
. He wrote extensively in these fields, publishing mostly in German. Apel's work brings together the analytical and
Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...
philosophical traditions, especially
pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. Pr ...
and the critical theory of the
Frankfurt School The Frankfurt School (german: Frankfurter Schule) is a school of social theory and critical philosophy associated with the Institute for Social Research, at Goethe University Frankfurt in 1929. Founded in the Weimar Republic (1918–1933), duri ...
. He developed a distinctive philosophical approach which he called transcendental pragmatics (''Transzendentalpragmatik''). In ''Understanding and Explanation: A Transcendental-Pragmatic Perspective'', Apel reformulated the difference between understanding (''
Verstehen ''Verstehen'' (, ), in the context of German philosophy and social sciences in general, has been used since the late 19th century – in English as in German – with the particular sense of the "interpretive or participatory" examination of socia ...
'') and explanation (''Erklärung''), which originated in the
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 c ...
of
Wilhelm Dilthey Wilhelm Dilthey (; ; 19 November 1833 – 1 October 1911) was a German historian, psychologist, sociologist, and hermeneutic philosopher, who held G. W. F. Hegel's Chair in Philosophy at the University of Berlin. As a polymathic philosopher, ...
and
interpretive sociology ''Verstehen'' (, ), in the context of German philosophy and social sciences in general, has been used since the late 19th century – in English as in German – with the particular sense of the "interpretive or participatory" examination of socia ...
of
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 prof ...
, on the basis of a Peircean-inspired transcendental-pragmatic account of language. This account of the "
lifeworld Lifeworld (or life-world) (german: Lebenswelt) may be conceived as a universe of what is self-evident or given, a world that subjects may experience together. The concept was popularized by Edmund Husserl, who emphasized its role as the ground o ...
" would become an element of the theory of communicative action and discourse ethics, which Apel co-developed with
Jürgen Habermas Jürgen Habermas (, ; ; born 18 June 1929) is a German social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere. Associated with the Frankfurt School, Habermas's wo ...
. Strategic rationality both claim to stand in need of communicative rationality that is seen as, in several regards, more fundamental. While sympathetic to Habermas's ''Theory of Communicative Action'', Apel has been critical of aspects of Habermas's approach. Apel has proposed that a theory of communication should be grounded in the transcendental-pragmatic conditions of communication. After taking his point of departure from Apel, Habermas has moved towards a "weak
transcendentalism Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in New England. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Wald ...
" that is more closely tied to empirical social inquiry. Apel also wrote works on
Charles Sanders Peirce Charles Sanders Peirce ( ; September 10, 1839 – April 19, 1914) was an American philosopher, logician, mathematician and scientist who is sometimes known as "the father of pragmatism". Educated as a chemist and employed as a scientist for ...
and is a past president of the C. S. Peirce Society. An early German-speaking adversary of so-called critical rationalism, Apel published a critique of the philosophy of
Karl Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the c ...
: In ''Transformation der Philosophie'' (1973), Apel charged Popper with being guilty of, amongst other things, a
pragmatic Pragmatism is a philosophical movement. Pragmatism or pragmatic may also refer to: *Pragmaticism, Charles Sanders Peirce's post-1905 branch of philosophy * Pragmatics, a subfield of linguistics and semiotics *'' Pragmatics'', an academic journal i ...
contradiction. From the 1970s to the 1990s, Apel influenced other philosophers writing in Europe, the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with t ...
, and
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
. Apel died on 15 May 2017 at the age of 95.


List of works

*''Analytic Philosophy of Language and the Geisteswissenschaften'' (1967) *''Hermeneutik und Ideologiekritik'' (1971) *''Sprache, Brücke und Hindernis'' (1972) *''Dialog als Methode'' (1972) *''Transformation der philosophie: Sprachanalytik, Semiotik, Hermeneutik'' (1973) *''Transformation der philosophie: Das Apriori der Kommunikationsgemeinschaft'' (1976) *''Sprachpragmatik und philosophie'' (1976) *''Neue Versuche über Erklären und Verstehen'' (1978) *''Die Erklären/Verstehen-Kontroverse in Transzendentalpragmatischer Sicht'' (1979) *''Towards a Transformation of Philosophy'' (1980 & 1998) *''Charles S. Peirce: From Pragmatism to Pragmaticism'' (1981) *''Understanding and Explanation: A Transcendental-Pragmatic Perspective'' (1984) *''La comunicazione umana'' (1985) *''Diskurs und Verantwortung: Das Problem des Übergangs zur Postkonventionellen Moral'' (1988) *''Towards a Transcendental
Semiotics Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes (semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something, ...
: Selected Essays'' (1994) *''Ethics and the Theory of Rationality: Selected Essays'' (1996) *''Filosofia analitica e filosofia continentale'' (1997) *''From a Transcendental-Semiotic Point of View'' (1998) *Mercier Lectures: "The Response of Discourse Ethics to the Moral Challenge of the Human Situation As Such, Especially Today" (2001) *''Fünf Vorlesungen über Transzendentale Semiotik als Erste Philosophie und Diskursethik'' (2002) *''Diskursethik und Diskursanthropologie'' (2002) *''Paradigmen der Ersten Philosophie: Zur reflexiven – transzendentalpragmatischen – Rekonstruktion der Philosophiegeschichte'' (2011) *''Transzendentale Reflexion und Geschichte'' (2017)


References


Further reading

*


External links


personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apel, Karl-Otto 1922 births 2017 deaths 20th-century essayists 20th-century German male writers 20th-century German philosophers 21st-century essayists 21st-century German male writers 21st-century German philosophers Communication theorists Continental philosophers Critical theorists Cultural critics German essayists German ethicists German logicians German male non-fiction writers German military personnel of World War II German semioticians German sociologists Hermeneutists Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz faculty Lecturers Literacy and society theorists Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Moral philosophers People from the Rhine Province Philosophers of culture Philosophers of ethics and morality Philosophers of language Philosophers of logic Philosophers of social science Philosophy academics Philosophy writers Pragmatists Rationality theorists Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Social critics Social philosophers Writers from Düsseldorf