Volker Gerhardt (born July 21, 1944) is a German

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 ...

. He specializes in

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 ...

political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

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 ...

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

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 ...

. His historical studies are centered on

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

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

and

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...

but have also dealt with

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...

Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

, Jaspers, Voegelin,

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 ...

Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, author, and political theorist. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. An authoritarian conservative theorist, he was noted as a critic of ...

and others. Volker Gerhardt studied philosophy, psychology and law in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

. He obtained his doctorate at Münster, and received his ''Habilitation'' there in 1984. In 1985 Gerhardt became

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 ...

of Philosophy at Münster. From 1988 to 1992 he led the Institute of Philosophy at the Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln. In 1992 he became Professor for

Practical Philosophy Practical philosophy concerns itself mainly with subjects that have applications in life, like the study of values, norms, politics, art, etc. The modern division of philosophy into theoretical philosophy and practical philosophyImmanuel Kant, ...

at the

Humboldt University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III of Prussia, Frederick W ...

in Berlin.

Other activities

* German Ethics Council, Member (2008-2012)Members
German Ethics Council.

Writings

* ''Pathos und Distanz: Studien zur Philosophie

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

s.'' Reclam, Stuttgart 1988. . * ''

.'' Beck, München 4. Auflage 2006. . * ''

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 ...

s Entwurf 'Zum ewigen Frieden'. Eine Theorie der Politik''. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1999. . * ''Vom Willen zur Macht. Anthropologie und Metaphysik der Macht am exemplarischen Fall Friedrich Nietzsches''. de Gruyter, Berlin, New York 1996. . * ''Selbstbestimmung: Das Prinzip der Individualität.'' Reclam, Stuttgart 1999. . * ''Individualität. Das Element der Welt.'' Beck, München 2000. . * ''Der Mensch wird geboren. Kleine Apologie der Humanität.'' Beck, München 2002. . * ''

: Vernunft und Leben.'' Reclam, Stuttgart 2002. . * ''Die angeborene Würde des Menschen: Aufsätze zur Biopolitik''. Parerga, Berlin 2003. . * ''Partizipation. Das Prinzip der Politik.'' Beck, München 2007,
Buchbesprechung von Frank Hahn
* ''Exemplarisches Denken: Aufsätze aus dem Merkur''. Fink Verlag, München 2008. . * ''Existentieller Liberalismus: Beiträge zur Politischen Philosophie und zum politischen Zeitgeschehen'', Hrsg. Héctor Wittwer. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2009. . * ''Die Funken des freien Geistes: Neuere Aufsätze zu Nietzsches Philosophie der Zukunft'', Hrsg. J.-Ch. Heilinger und N. Loukidelis. de Gruyter, Berlin 2011. . * ''Der Sinn des Sinns: Versuch über das Göttliche'', C. H. Beck, München 2014. .

References

External links

*
Homepage
at the Institute for Philosophy at the HU Berlin
Inaugural Lecture
of June 30, 1993, at the Humboldt University Berlin

with Volker Gerhardt {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerhardt, Volker 1944 births 20th-century German philosophers Living people German male writers