Profile and History of the Institute
Profile of the Institute of Philosophy
The Institute of Philosophy was reestablished in 1992. In addition to offering academic programs in philosophy leading to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy (formerly the Magister Artium), the Institute of Philosophy provides teacher training programs for all types of schools, as well as minor programs for students in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science and degree programs in various individual disciplines, such as physics and biology.
History of Philosophy in Dresden
The notion that money and intellect do not go hand in hand is an old prejudice. And since the Electorate of Saxony was the wealthiest German state in the 18th century, Frederick II was able to play into that very prejudice when—while visiting Dresden Castle—he is said to have remarked caustically to his reader, Catt: “Well then, my dear fellow… I believe no tragedy has ever been read here.” Indeed: Unlike in Berlin, people here did not adorn themselves with French philosophers. Nevertheless, the Enlightenment was also advanced here. The first complete edition of Voltaire’s works was published not in France, but by the Dresden court bookseller Walther. This edition was, after all, the only one supervised by the author to appear abroad at that time. But it would still be some time before philosophy could become institutionalized in Dresden.
A university has existed here only since 1890. In that year, the already existing Dresden Polytechnic was granted the status of a technical university. But philosophers were already represented in that precursor institution, the Polytechnic. Even at that time, philosophy was integrated into teacher training. Starting in 1860, a course in “Propaedeutics in Philosophy” was also offered as part of the “Department for Teachers of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.” In addition to the history of philosophy, this included logic, aesthetics, and psychology.
In 1871, the first full-fledged chair of philosophy was established. That year, a separate department—the “General Department for the General Sciences” (known simply as the “General Department” from 1873 onward)—was founded. Alongside educators, economists and statisticians, historians, Germanists, and art historians, the specialists in the general sciences—the philosophers—found their place here.
The first few decades were clearly shaped by Neo-Kantianism, as exemplified by the first chairholder, Carl August Fritz Schultze, who represented the field of philosophy in Dresden from 1876 until his death in 1908. His successor, Theodor Elsenhans, also followed in this tradition. In the years that followed, philosophy in Dresden was represented by, among others, Carl Bühler (1918–22), Gustav Kafka (1923–34), Richard Kroner (1925–28), Paul Tillich (1925–29), Alfred Baeumler (1929–33, Privatdozent since 1924), and Werner Straub (1938–45).
Overall, philosophy in Dresden during the Weimar period had a strong focus on cultural studies. This was also reflected in the fact that the “General Department” was renamed the “Department of Cultural Studies” in 1925. Probably due to the general character of the University of Dresden as a technical university, technology was also repeatedly the focus of interest. This is exemplified, for instance, by the commemorative philosophical lectures delivered in 1928 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the TUD Dresden University of Technology. Paul Tillich spoke on “The Technical City as a Symbol,” and Gustav Kafka on “Cultural Studies and Technology.”
Furthermore, even at that time, teacher training was a central mission of the Technical University. Thus, since 1924, the “General Department” had been responsible for training elementary and vocational school teachers. For certain departments, attendance at general education lectures had been mandatory since 1925; otherwise, however, it remained largely optional. By the late 1920s, the “Department of Cultural Studies” ranked second among all departments at the University of Dresden—and among all comparable departments at Germany’s technical universities—in terms of the number of students enrolled.
After the end of the war, philosophy courses were resumed as part of the Philosophy Seminar within the Department of Cultural Studies. In 1949, Hermann Ley became the first Marxist to begin teaching after 1945. Starting in 1950, he held a full-time teaching position; from 1954 to 1956, he served as a professor with a chair at the Technical University of Dresden. In 1964, the Institute of Philosophy was founded, followed in 1968 by the Section for Philosophy and Cultural Studies, which included the Department of Philosophy at the TU Dresden. However, during the GDR era, there was no direct degree program in philosophy in Dresden. From 1971 to 1991, the Department of Philosophy was primarily responsible for distance learning. In addition, basic philosophical knowledge was taught as part of the “Marxist-Leninist foundational studies” within the natural sciences and engineering Departments at the Technical University. In the 1980s, evening lectures were also offered, in the style of a “studium generale.” In addition to the Section for Philosophy and Cultural Studies, there was, of course, also the Section for Marxism-Leninism, where philosophers were also active.
In 1991, the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies at TU Dresden was completely dissolved, and in 1992, the current Institute of Philosophy was reestablished.
[The text is translated with the help of DeepL. We appologize for any inaccuracies that might have resulted from this.]