Max Bense (7 February 1910 in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

– 29 April 1990 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

) was a German philosopher, writer, and publicist, known for his work in

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

, and

semiotics Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...

. His thoughts combine

natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

, and

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 ...

under a collective perspective and follow a definition of reality, which – under the term ''existential rationalism'' – is able to remove the separation between humanities and natural sciences.

Life

Max Bense spent his early childhood in his birthplace Strasbourg and in 1918 his family was deported from Alsace-Lorraine as a consequence of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Starting in 1920, he attended grammar school in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and after 1930 he studied physics, chemistry, mathematics, geology, and philosophy at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

. During his studies, his interest in literature is revealed by several contributions to newspapers, journals, and broadcast, for which he wrote several

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...

s. In 1937 he received his doctor's degree (Dr. phil. nat.) with his dissertation "Quantenmechanik und Daseinsrelativität" (

Quantum Mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...

and Relativity of ''

Dasein "Dasein" (; ) is a term in the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. Adopted from the ordinary German word meaning "existence", Heidegger used it to refer to the mode of being that he believed is particular to human beings. A being that is aware of an ...

''). He used the term ''Relativity of Dasein'', which he adopted from

Max Scheler Max Ferdinand Scheler (; 22 August 1874 – 19 May 1928) was a German philosopher known for his work in phenomenology, ethics, and philosophical anthropology. Considered in his lifetime one of the most prominent German philosophers,Davis, Zacha ...

, for explaining that novel theories do not have to contradict classical science. Bense – declared opponent of

national socialism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequ ...

– knowingly opposed the

Deutsche Physik ''Deutsche Physik'' (, "German Physics") or Aryan Physics () was a nationalist movement in the German physics community in the early 1930s which had the support of many eminent physicists in Germany. The term appears in the title of a four- ...

of the Nazi regime (cf. Johannes Juilfs), which rejected the

theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical ph ...

due to Einstein's

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish origin. Therefore, he did not receive his postdoctoral qualification. In 1938, Bense initially worked as a physicist at the

Bayer AG Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's ...

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. The city is part of the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan ...

. After the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a soldier, firstly as a meteorologist, then as a medical technician in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and Georgenthal, where he was mayor for a short time after the end of the war. In 1945 the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

appointed him to

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

(Chancellor of the University) and offered him the possibility of postdoctoral work (

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

), which was likely to be cumulative, at the Social-Pedagogic Faculty, which was followed by an appointment to Professor extraordinarius of philosophical and scientific propaedeutics. In 1948, Bense fled from the political development of the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...

to Boppard; and he was appointed as a guest professor in philosophy and theory of science by the

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart () is a research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany with programs in civil, mechanical, ind ...

in 1949, and as senior lecturer (associate professor) there in 1950. In 1955, Bense raised a controversy concerning mythologizing tendencies of German postwar culture. Thereupon he became the target of public

polemics Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...

, resulting in a postponement of his appointment to

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

until 1963. In addition, he worked at the adult education center in Ulm and at the Ulm School of Design from 1953 to 1958. He was also guest professor at the Hamburg College for Visual Arts from 1958 to 1960 and in 1966/67. Max Bense became professor

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

on 7 February 1978 and died in 1990 as an internationally accredited scientist. Bense married his employee and colleague Elisabeth Walther in 1988.

Philosophy

Mathematics in art and language

Already in his first publication, "Raum und Ich" ("Space and Ego"; 1934), Bense combined theoretical philosophy with mathematics, semiotics, and aesthetics; this remained his thematic emphasis. For the first time, he phrased a rational aesthetics, which defines the components of language – words, syllables,

phoneme A phoneme () is any set of similar Phone (phonetics), speech sounds that are perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible Phonetics, phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word fr ...

s – as a statistical language repertoire, and which opposes literature that is based upon meaning. Conversely, Bense studied the concept of style, which he applied to mathematics – following

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to ...

' ''Mathesis Universalis'' –, designing a universal

markup language A markup language is a Encoding, text-encoding system which specifies the structure and formatting of a document and potentially the relationships among its parts. Markup can control the display of a document or enrich its content to facilitate au ...

. "Die Mathematik in der Kunst" ("Mathematics in Art"; 1949) was his starting point for investigating mathematical principles of form in the history of art. From this, Bense developed a perspective to see the mathematical spirit in works of literary art, especially in

metrics Metric or metrical may refer to: Measuring * Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement * An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement Mathematics ...

and

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

. Bense's thoughts assumed the correlation of a mathematical and linguistic consciousness, which have a common origin and have grown into complementary modes of thought. He considered the atomistic structures of the linguistic modes to be equivalent. By using non-interpretable basic elements (characters) and rules or operators, these forms give meaning, impart information and make stylistically formed language possible. He considered the aesthetic and the semantic information to be generally separated and not to be defined until they are used. This was the first German integration of

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

's work into the field of aesthetics. Some of Bense's knowledge is based on the investigations of the American mathematician

George David Birkhoff George David Birkhoff (March21, 1884November12, 1944) was one of the top American mathematicians of his generation. He made valuable contributions to the theory of differential equations, dynamical systems, the four-color problem, the three-body ...

. Thus some termini like "redundancy" and "entropy" have to be equated with "Ordnungsmaß" and "Materialverbrauch" (consumption of material) from Birkhoff's aesthetics research.

Technology and ethics

Bense considered the destruction of the social and intellectual middle-class world since the beginning of the 20th century a parallel to the destruction of the concept of

being Existence is the state of having being or reality in contrast to nonexistence and nonbeing. Existence is often contrasted with essence: the essence of an entity is its essential features or qualities, which can be understood even if one do ...

in philosophy. He saw the natural world replaced by an artificial one. As a forerunner of the computer age, Bense thought about the technical counterparts of human existence; unlike many of his contemporaries he considered machines as pure products of human intelligence, having

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of Rigour#Mathematics, mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algo ...

s as a basis, but soon he posed ethical questions, which were not discussed in ethics of technology until decades later. His pragmatic views of technology, influenced by

Walter Benjamin Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin ( ; ; 15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German-Jewish philosopher, cultural critic, media theorist, and essayist. An eclectic thinker who combined elements of German idealism, Jewish mysticism, Western M ...

, which lacked either belief in progress or its rejection, brought him the criticism of

Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( ; ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, musicologist, and social theorist. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical theory, whose work has com ...

– and again put him in the role of the opposition.

Structural analysis of language

Inspired by

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

informatics Informatics is the study of computational systems. According to the Association for Computing Machinery, ACM Europe Council and Informatics Europe, informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which the centra ...

, and the occupation with electronic calculating machines, but also by Wittgenstein's concept of the language-game, Bense tried to put into perspective or to extend the traditional view of literature. In that, he was one of the first philosophers of culture who integrated the technical possibilities of the

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

into their thoughts and investigated them across disciplinary boundaries. He statistically and topologically analysed linguistic phenomena, subjected them to questions of

semiotic Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of semiosis, sign processes and the communication of Meaning (semiotics), meaning. In semiotics, a Sign (semiotics), sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feel ...

information theory Information theory is the mathematical study of the quantification (science), quantification, Data storage, storage, and telecommunications, communication of information. The field was established and formalized by Claude Shannon in the 1940s, ...

, and

communication theory Communication theory is a proposed description of communication phenomena, the relationships among them, a storyline describing these relationships, and an argument for these three elements. Communication theory provides a way of talking about a ...

using structuralistic approaches. Thus Bense became the first theoretician of

concrete poetry Concrete poetry is an arrangement of linguistic elements in which the typographical effect is more important in conveying meaning than verbal significance. It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry, a term that has now developed a distinct mea ...

, which was started by Eugen Gomringer in 1953, and encouraged e.g. Helmut Heißenbüttel, Claus Bremer, Reinhard Döhl, Ludwig Haring, and Franz Mon to perform further experiments, and also had influence on Ernst Jandl's language deconstruction (see also Stuttgarter Gruppe/Schule).

Discussion with writers

In his work with literature and literary language, Bense was not content with only theoretical considerations; he had close contact to authors like

Alfred Andersch Alfred Hellmuth Andersch (; 4 February 1914 – 21 February 1980) was a German writer, publisher, and radio editor. The son of a conservative East Prussian army officer, he was born in Munich, Germany, and died in Berzona, Ticino, Switzerland. ...

and

Arno Schmidt Arno Schmidt (; 18 January 1914 – 3 June 1979) was a German author and translator. He is little known outside of German-speaking areas, in part because his works present a formidable challenge to translators. Although not among Germany's mo ...

. His constructions of analogy to

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

made major contributions to the understanding of

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

and

dadaism Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

Understanding of science

As a theoretician of science, Bense represented the ''synthetic intellectual concept,'' where classical

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

and modern technology constructively complement one another. From this concept of science, he hoped for progressive knowledge, which must always be ethically scrutinized, and at the same time, for the prevention of regression. Because of that, Bense argued for

enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

and put himself into that tradition. After 1984 Max Bense applied his theories of visual art to screen media. Because of that, early thoughts of

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

concerning the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

, especially the concept of digital poetry, may be traced back to Bense.

Publications

''All publications are in German.'' * ''Raum und Ich. Eine Philosophie über den Raum''. Luken & Luken, Berlin 1934 * ''Aufstand des Geistes. Eine Verteidigung der Erkenntnis''. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1935 * ''Anti-Klages oder Von der Würde des Menschen''. Widerstands-Verlag (Anna Niekisch), Berlin 1937 * ''Kierkegaard-Brevier''. Insel, Leipzig 1937 * ''Quantenmechanik und Daseinsrelativität. Eine Untersuchung über die Prinzipien der Quantenmechanik und ihre Beziehung zu Schelers Lehre von der Daseinsrelativität der Gegenstandsarten''. Welzel, Cologne 1938 * ''Vom Wesen deutscher Denker oder Zwischen Kritik und Imperativ''. Oldenbourg, Munich/Berlin 1938 * ''Die abendländische Leidenschaft oder Zur Kritik der Existenz.'' Oldenbourg, Munich/Berlin 1938 * ''Geist der Mathematik. Abschnitte aus der Philosophie der Arithmetik und Geometrie''. Oldenbourg, Munich/Berlin 1939 * ''Aus der Philosophie der Gegenwart''. Staufen, Cologne 1940 * ''Einleitung in die Philosophie. Eine Einübung des Geistes''. Oldenbourg, Munich 1941 * ''Sören Kierkegaard. Leben im Geist''. Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 1942 * ''Physikalische Welträtsel. Ein Buch von Atomen, Kernen, Strahlen und Zellen''. Staufen, Cologne 1942 * ''Briefe großer Naturforscher und Mathematiker''. Staufen, Cologne 1943 * ''Das Leben der Mathematiker. Bilder aus der Geistesgeschichte der Mathematik''. Staufen, Cologne 1944 * ''Über Leibniz. Leibniz und seine Ideologie. Der geistige Mensch und die Technik''. Rauch, Jena 1946 * ''Konturen einer Geistesgeschichte der Mathematik. Die Mathematik und die Wissenschaften''. (2 volumes) Claassen & Goverts, Hamburg 1946-1949 * ''Philosophie als Forschung''. Staufen, Cologne 1947 * ''Umgang mit Philosophen. Essays''. Staufen, Cologne 1947 * ''Hegel und Kierkegaard. Eine prinzipielle Untersuchung''. Staufen, Cologne 1948 * ''Von der Verborgenheit des Geistes''. Habel, Berlin 1948 * ''Was ist Existenzphilosophie?'' Butzon & Bercker, Kevelaer 1949 * ''Moderne Naturphilosophie''. Butzon & Bercker, Kevelaer 1949 * ''Technische Existenz. Essays''. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1949 * ''Geschichte der Wissenschaften in Tabellen''. Butzon&Bercker, Kevelaer 1949 * ''Literaturmetaphysik. Der Schriftsteller in der technischen Welt''. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1950 * ''Ptolemäer und Mauretanier oder Die theologische Emigration der deutschen Literatur''. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne/Berlin 1950 * ''Was ist Elektrizität?'' Butzon & Bercker, Kevelaer 1950 * ''Die Philosophie''. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt/Main 1951 * ''Plakatwelt. Vier Essays''. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1952 * ''Die Theorie Kafkas''. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne/Berlin 1952 * ''Der Begriff der Naturphilosophie.'' Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1953 * ''Aesthetica (I). Metaphysische Beobachtungen am Schönen''. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1954 * ''Descartes und die Folgen (I). Ein aktueller Traktat''. Agis, Krefeld/Baden-Baden 1955 * ''Aesthetica (II). Aesthetische Information''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1956 * ''Rationalismus und Sensibilität. Präsentationen''. (Mit Elisabeth Walther) Agis, Krefeld/Baden-Baden 1956 * ''Aesthetica (III). Ästhetik und Zivilisation. Theorie der ästhetischen Zivilisation''. Agis, Krefeld/Baden-Baden 1958 * ''Kunst und Intelligenz als Problem der Moderne''. Kulturamt, Dortmund 1959 * ''Aesthetica (IV). Programmierung des Schönen. Allgemeine Texttheorie und Textästhetik''. Agis, Krefeld/Baden-Baden 1960 * ''Grignan-Serie. Beschreibung einer Landschaft''. Der Augenblick, Stuttgart 1960 * ''Descartes und die Folgen (II). Ein Geräusch in der Straße''. Agis, Krefeld/Baden-Baden 1960 * ''Die Idee der Politik in der technischen Welt''. Kulturamt, Dortmund 1960 * ''aprèsfiche für uns hier und für andere von Max Bense. Werbung für „Rheinlandschaft“''. Burkhardt, Stuttgart 1961 * ''Bestandteile des Vorüber. Dünnschliffe Mischtexte Montagen''. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 1961 * ''Rosenschuttplatz''. (with Clytus Gottwald) Mayer, Stuttgart 1961 * ''Reste eines Gesichtes''. (With Karl-Georg Pfahler). Mayer, Stuttgart 1961 * ''Entwurf einer Rheinlandschaft''. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne/Berlin 1962 * ''theorie der texte. Eine Einführung in neuere Auffassungen und Methoden''. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 1962 * ''Die präzisen Vergnügen. Versuche und Modelle''. Limes, Wiesbaden 1964 * ''Aesthetica. Einführung in die neue Aesthetik''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1965 * ''Zufällige Wortereignisse''. Mayer, Stuttgart 1965 * ''Brasilianische Intelligenz. Eine cartesianische Reflexion''. Limes, Wiesbaden 1965 * ''jetzt''. Mayer, Stuttgart 1965 * ''tallose berge''. Mayer, Stuttgart 1965 * ''Ungehorsam der Ideen. Abschließender Traktat über Intelligenz und technische Welt''. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne/Berlin 1965 * ''zusammenfassende grundlegung moderner ästhetik''. galerie press, St. Gallen 1966 * ''Epische Studie zu einem epikureischen Doppelspiel''. Hake, Cologne 1967 * ''Die Zerstörung des Durstes durch Wasser. Einer Liebesgeschichte zufälliges Textereignis''. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 1967 * ''Semiotik. Allgemeine Theorie der Zeichen''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1967 * ''kleine abstrakte ästhetik''. edition rot, Stuttgart 1969 * ''Einführung in die informationstheoretische Ästhetik. Grundlegung und Anwendung in der Texttheorie''. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1969 * ''Der Monolog der Terry Jo''. (With Ludwig Harig) In: Klaus Schöning (Ed.): ''Neues Hörspiel. Texte. Partituren.'' Suhrkamp, Frankfurt/Main 1969, pp. 59–91 * ''Artistik und Engagement. Präsentation ästhetischer Objekte''. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 1970 * ''Existenzmitteilung aus San Franzisko''. Hake, Cologne 1970 * ''nur glas ist wie glas. werbetexte''. Fietkau, Berlin 1970 * ''Die Realität der Literatur. Autoren und ihre Texte''. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 1971 * ''Zeichen und Design. Semiotische Ästhetik''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1971 * ''Wörterbuch der Semiotik''. (With Elisabeth Walther) Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 1973 * ''Semiotische Prozesse und Systeme in Wissenschaftstheorie und Design, Ästhetik und Mathematik. Semiotik vom höheren Standpunkt''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1975 * ''Vermittlung der Realitäten. Semiotische Erkenntnistheorie''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1976 * ''Das Auge Epikurs. Indirektes über Malerei''. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1979 * ''Die Unwahrscheinlichkeit des Ästhetischen und die semiotische Konzeption der Kunst''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1979 * ''Axiomatik und Semiotik in Mathematik und Naturerkenntnis''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1981 * ''Zentrales und Occasionelles. Poetische Bemerkungen''. Edition Künstlerhaus, Stuttgart 1981 * ''Das Universum der Zeichen. Essays über die Expansionen der Semiotik''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1983 * ''Das graue Rot der Poesie. Gedichte''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1983 * ''Kosmos Atheos. Gedichte''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1985 * ''Repräsentation und Fundierung der Realitäten. Fazit semiotischer Perspektiven''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1986 * ''Nacht-Euklidische Verstecke. Poetische Texte''. Agis, Baden-Baden 1988 * ''Poetische Abstraktionen. Gedichte und Aphorismen''. Manus Presse, Stuttgart 1990 * ''Der Mann, an den ich denke. Ein Fragment''. (from his unpublished works, ed. by Elisabeth Walther) edition rot, Stuttgart 1991 * ''Die Eigenrealität der Zeichen''. (from his unpublished works, ed. by Elisabeth Walther) Agis, Baden-Baden 1992

Secondary literature

''All references are in German.'' * Eckardt, Michael: "...sich in die wissenschaftliche Welt allerbestens einführen können." Max Bense, Walter Wolf und Georg Klaus zwischen Kooperation und Konflikt an der Universität Jena in den Jahren 1945–1949; in: HOSSFELD, U./KAISER, T./MESTRUP, H. (Ed.)(2007): ''Hochschule im Sozialismus. Studien zur Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (1945-1990)''. Cologne/Weimar/Vienna 2007, 1929-1970. * Eckardt, Michael: "Max Bense in Thüringen", in: ''Palmbaum'' 14 (2006) 1, 104–111. * Eckardt, Michael: "Benses Kierkegaard in Jena", ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', 31 January 2006, p. 8. * Ernst, Christoph: "Max Bense: Der Essay zwischen Poesie und Prosa", in: ders., ''Essayistische Medienreflexion''. Bielefeld, Transcript 2005, 135–144, * Thomé, Horst: "Einheit des Wissens im Zeichen „technischer Existenz“ – Max Bense", in: Becker, Norbert und Quarthal, Franz (Ed.) (2004), ''Die Universität Stuttgart nach 1945: Geschichte – Entwicklungen – Persönlichkeiten, Ostfildern'', Thorbecke 2004, 345–348, * Eckardt, Michael: "Bemerkungen zum Brief von Georg Klaus an Max Bense", in: Fuchs-Kittowski, Klaus und Piotrowski, Siegfried (Ed.), ''Kybernetik und Interdisziplinarität in den Wissenschaften.'' Berlin: Trafo-Verlag 2004, 391–392. * Büscher, Barbara; Herrmann, Hans-Christian von; Hoffmann, Christoph (Ed.): ''Ästhetik als Programm: Max Bense. Daten und Streuungen''. Berlin, Vice Versa 2004, 307 pp., with illustrations, * Eckardt, Michael: "Angewandte Wissenschaftsrevison – Überschneidungen und Parallelen im Schaffen von Max Bense und Georg Klaus", in: ''Grundlagenstudien aus Kybernetik und Geisteswissenschaft / Humankybernetik'', 43 (2002) 4, 143–152. * Eckardt, Michael: "Philosophie und Philosophen in Jena: Max Bense und Georg Klaus", in: Weißbecker, M. (Ed.), ''Gewalten, Gestalten, Erinnerungen. Beiträge zur Geschichte der FSU Jena in den ersten Jahren nach 1945.'' Jena, Thüringer Forum für Bildung und Wissenschaft 2002, pp. 51–69, * Michael Eckardt und Engell, Lorenz (Ed.): ''Das Programm des Schönen. Ausgewählte Beiträge der Stuttgarter Schule zur Semiotik der Künste und der Medien.'' Weimar, VDG Verlag und Datenbank für Geisteswissenschaften 2002, 334 pp., ill., graph. depict., * Elisabeth Walther: "Max Bense und die Kybernetik", in: ''Computer Art Faszination'', 1999, p. 360 * Harry Walter: ''Max Bense in Stuttgart'', 1994. 16 pages, 11 pictures. Stapled. Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach

Reference s

External links

*
max-bense.de

Stuttgarter Schule
* Elisabeth Walther

''netzliteratur.net'' * Elisabeth Walther-Bense

''stuttgarter-schule.de'' * Herbert W. Franke

Max Bense, Informationsästhetik und naturwissenschaftliche Erklärung der Kunst", Telepolis, 9 April 1998 * Tilman Baumgärtel
"Die präzisen Vergnügen."
"Kreativität mit Großrechenanlagen: Zur Wiederentdeckung der 'Stuttgarter Schule' um Max Bense." Telepolis, 20 March 2005 * Hermann Rotermund

Max Bense als Wegbereiter für Konkrete Poesie und Netzliteratur",

Radio Bremen Radio Bremen (), shortened to RB () is Germany's smallest Public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster and the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (which includes Bremerha ...

, 2001 *Marlis Gerhardt
"Modern ist, wer seiner Zeit gewachsen ist.
Max Bense: ein Porträt", SWR2, 19 June 2007
downloadable
rtf-file, 17 pp., 64 kB * Daniel Fetzner
„fogpatch“
Creative research project (2007-2010) about the text "Existenzmitteilung aus San Franzisko" {{DEFAULTSORT:Bense, Max 1910 births 1990 deaths Writers from Strasbourg People from Alsace-Lorraine Alsatian-German people German Peace Union politicians German philosophers of science German philosophers of technology German semioticians University of Bonn alumni Academic staff of the University of Jena Academic staff of the University of Stuttgart German male non-fiction writers 20th-century German philosophers 20th-century German non-fiction writers