Otfried Höffe (born 12 September 1943 in Leobschütz,

Upper Silesia Province The Province of Upper Silesia (; Silesian German: ''Provinz Oberschläsing''; ; ) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. It comprised much of the region of Upper Silesia and was eventually divided into two government regio ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Academic career

From 1964 to 1970, Höffe studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the universities of Münster, Tübingen, Saarbrücken and Munich. His 1971 dissertation was on the practical philosophy of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

. In 1970 and 1971, he was

visiting scholar In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. Höffe qualified as a professor in Munich in 1974 with a dissertation on ''Strategies of Humanity. On the ethics of public decision-making''. In 1976, he got his first full professorship at the

University of Duisburg The old University of Duisburg was a university in Duisburg, Germany. History Its origins date back to the 1555 decision to create a university for the unified duchies at the Lower Rhine that were later to be merged into Prussia. After the foundati ...

. From 1978 until 1992, he was professor for

social philosophy Social philosophy is the study and interpretation of society and social institutions in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations. Social philosophers emphasize understanding the social contexts for political, legal, moral and cultur ...

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Höffe also had a lectureship in social ethics at the

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

from 1986 to 1998. Since 1992, Höffe is a professor of philosophy at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

. In 2002, he also became constant guest professor for

philosophy of law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

at the

University of St. Gallen The University of St. Gallen (HSG) is a research university located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that specialises in business administration, economics, law, international affairs, and computer science. It was established in 1898. It consistent ...

, Switzerland. His main and most famous books, including ''Kant's Cosmopolitan Theory of Law and Peace'' translated by Alexandra M. Newton, deal with

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

and

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

, and the philosophy of

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...

and Aristotle. In April 2020, Höffe was appointed by Minister-President

Armin Laschet Armin Laschet (; born 18 February 1961) is a German politician who served as Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 27 June 2017 to 26 October 2021. He served as Leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 22 January 2021 t ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

to a 12-member expert group to advise on economic and social consequences of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Germany The COVID-19 pandemic in Germany has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. On 27 January 2020, the first case in Germany was confirmed near Munich, Bavaria. By mid February, the arising cluster of cases had been fully contained ...

.Kristian Frigelj (April 1, 2020)
Zwölfköpfiges Gremium: Armin Laschet gründet „Expertenrat Corona“
''

Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...

''.

Personal life

Höffe resides in

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

Bibliography

one of the translations of his work into English are listed

Books

* ''Praktische Philosophie, das Modell des Aristoteles''. 3. Auflage. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 2008, . * ''Den Staat braucht selbst ein Volk von Teufeln: philos. Versuche zur Rechts- u. Staatsethik''. Reclam, Stuttgart 1988, . * ''Politische Gerechtigkeit: Grundlegung einer kritischen Philosophie von Recht und Staat''. 4. Auflage. Suhrkamp, 2003, . * ''Kategorische Rechtsprinzipien: ein Kontrapunkt der Moderne''. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 1995, . * ''Moral als Preis der Moderne: ein Versuch über Wissenschaft, Technik und Umwelt''. 4. Auflage. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 2000, . * ''Vernunft und Recht: Bausteine zu einem interkulturellen Rechtsdiskurs''. 2. Auflage. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 1998, . * ''Gibt es ein interkulturelles Strafrecht?: ein philosophischer Versuch''. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 1999, . * ''Demokratie im Zeitalter der Globalisierung''. C. H. Beck, München 2001, . * ''„Königliche Völker“: zu Kants kosmopolitischer Rechts- und Friedenstheorie''. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 2001, . * ''Medizin ohne Ethik?'' 2. Auflage. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 2003, . * ''Gerechtigkeit. Eine philosophische Einführung.'' 4. durchgesehene Auflage. C. H. Beck, München 2010, * ''Kleine Geschichte der Philosophie''. C. H. Beck, München 2001, 2. Auflage 2008, . NZZ'', 31. Januar 2002">Neue Zürcher Zeitung">NZZ'', 31. Januar 2002* ''Kants Kritik der reinen Vernunft. Die Grundlegung der modernen Philosophie.'' 2. Auflage. C. H. Beck, München 2003, . * ''Wirtschaftsbürger, Staatsbürger, Weltbürger. Politische Ethik im Zeitalter der Globalisierung.'' C. H. Beck, München 2004, . * ''Aristoteles.'' 4., überarbeitete Auflage. Beck’sche Reihe Denker, München 2014, . * ''Immanuel Kant.'' 7., überarbeitete Auflage. Beck’sche Reihe Denker, München 2007, . * ''Lebenskunst und Moral oder macht Tugend glücklich?'' C. H. Beck, München 2007, . * ''Ist die Demokratie zukunftsfähig? Über moderne Politik''. C. H. Beck, München 2009, . * ''Thomas Hobbes''. C. H. Beck Verlag, München 2010, . * ''Kants Kritik der praktischen Vernunft: Eine Philosophie der Freiheit.'' C. H. Beck, München 2012, * ''Ethik''. Eine Einführung. C. H. Beck Verlag, München 2013, . * ''Die Macht der Moral im 21. Jahrhundert''. C. H. Beck Verlag, München 2014, . * ''Kritik der Freiheit: Das Grundproblem der Moderne''. C. H. Beck Verlag, München 2015, .

Edited volumes

* ''Aristoteles-Lexikon''. Kröner-Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, * ''Lexikon der Ethik''. 7. Auflage. C. H. Beck, München 2008, * ''Einführung in die utilitaristische Ethik: klassische und zeitgenössische Texte''. 4. Auflage. Francke (UTB), Tübingen 2008, * ''Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten. Ein kooperativer Kommentar''. 3. Auflage. Klostermann, Frankfurt 2000, * ''Immanuel Kant, Kritik der praktischen Vernunft'' (kooperativer Kommentar). Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2002, * ''Immanuel Kant, zum ewigen Frieden'' (kooperativer Kommentar). 2. Auflage. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2004, * ''John Rawls, Eine Theorie der Gerechtigkeit'' (kooperativer Kommentar), Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 2. Aufl. 2006, * ''Aristoteles: Die Hauptwerke: Ein Lesebuch'', Francke, Tübingen 2009, * ''Immanuel Kant: Die Religion innerhalb der Grenzen der bloßen Vernunft'' (kooperativer Kommentar), Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2010, * ''Immanuel Kant: Schriften zur Geschichtsphilosophie'' (kooperativer Kommentar), Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2012,

Essays

* ''Der wissenschaftliche Tierversuch: bioethische Überlegungen.'' In: ''Schweizerische Ärztezeitung.'' Band Nr. 63. 1982, S. 1001–1010. * ''Subsidiarität als Gesellschafts- und Staatsprinzip''. In: ''Swiss Political Science Review'' 3, 1997, doi:10.1002/j.1662-6370.1997.tb00222.x (PDF; 195 kB). * ''Der Kampf der Kulturen kann ausfallen. Die moderne Zivilisation ist multireligiös verträglich und enthält eine große allgemeinmenschliche Kraft.'' In: ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.'' 14. Oktober 2001.
''Gerechtigkeit als Tausch. Zur Begründung von Recht und Staat''.
(PDF; 92 kB) Festvortrag zur Eröffnung der Rechtswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der

Universität Luzern The University of Lucerne (UNILU; German: ''Universität Luzern'') is a public university with a campus in Lucerne, Switzerland. 1,460 undergraduates and 1,258 postgraduate students attend the university, which makes it Switzerland's smallest un ...

, 22. Oktober 2001.
''Daten- und Persönlichkeitsschutz im Zeitalter der Globalisierung''.
(PDF; 68 kB) Freundesgabe Büllesbach 2002. * ''Wie aber trägst du’s? Was das Kopftuch symbolisieren kann.'' In: '' FAZ'', 29. März 2004.
''Soziale Gerechtigkeit. Über die Bedingungen realer Freiheit''.
In: '' NZZ'', 4. Juni 2005.
''Liberale Demokratie, Kulturen und Religionen''.
(PDF; 172 kB) Vortrag 13.–14. Juni 2005.
''Ungleichheit – Ungerechtigkeit''.
(PDF; 2,97 MB) '' Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte'', 37/2005, mit Aufsätzen von Otfried Höffe, Paul Nolte, Rainer Forst.
''Vom Nutzen des Nutzlosen. Zur Bedeutung der Philosophie im Zeitalter der Ökonomisierung''.
In: ''Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie.'' 53 (2005), H. 5, S. 667–678.

In: '' NZZ'', 23. Januar 2006.
''Maximal oder optimal. Zur Ethik der Hochleistungsmedizin''.
(PDF; 42 kB) Vortrag am 10. Mai 2006.
''Buch und Autor: rechtsphilosophische und rechtspolitische Überlegungen''.
(PDF; 28 kB) Vortrag zum 60-jährigen Jubiläum des Akademie-Verlags am 11. Oktober 2006.

''

Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (born Johanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theory, political theorists of the twentieth century. Her work ...

s Hauptwerk: eine kritische Würdigung''. In: ''

'', 14. Oktober 2006.
''Kant ist kein Frankfurter''.
In: ''

Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...

'', Nr. 45/2007.
''Keine Einbahnstraße''.
In: ''

''. 10. November 2007.
''Hin zum Weltbürgerrecht''.
In: ''

'', 5. April 2008.
''Macht Tugend glücklich? Über Lebenskunst und Moral''.
(PDF; 130 kB) e-Journal Philosophie der Psychologie.

In: ''

'', 13. September 2008.
''Zur Theorie der Kommunikation: Wahrheit und Gerechtigkeit durch Konsens finden?''
(PDF; 446 kB) Rede vor der Novartisstiftung am 5. Dezember 2008.
''Verdienen die Manager, was sie verdienen? Ein philosophischer Blick auf Spitzenlöhne''.
In: '' NZZ'', 22. April 2009. * ''Helfen zum Tod, Hilfe im Sterben.'' In: '' FAZ'', 5. Juni 2010, S. 8. *
Souverän ist, wer über Verstand verfügt
', FAZ 10. August 2012 *
Demokratie von unten: Europa als Bürgerrepublik
– Statt der Utopie Vereinigter Staaten von Europa ist lediglich eine Vision vertretbar, die auf Subsidiarität setzt und Europa über die Unionsgrenzen hinaus anerkennt.'' Gastkommentar, NZZ 4. September 2017

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffe, Otfried 1943 births Living people People from Głubczyce 20th-century German philosophers German ethicists German male writers Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg Academic staff of ETH Zurich