Karl-Otto Apel
Encyclopedia
Karl-Otto Apel is a German philosopher and Professor Emeritus at the University of Frankfurt am Main. Apel worked in ethics
, the philosophy of language
and human sciences. He wrote extensively in these fields, publishing mostly in German. He influenced other philosophers writing in Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
from the University of Bonn
in 1950. He was appointed lecturer at the University of Mainz in 1961. He was a full professor of philosophy at the University of Kiel
from 1962 to 1969, at the University of Saarbrücken from 1969 to 1972, and at the University of Frankfurt am Main from 1972 to 1990. In 1990 he transferred to emeritus
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
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.
philosophical traditions, especially pragmatism
and the critical theory
of the Frankfurt School
.
In Understanding and Explanation: A Transcendental-Pragmatic Perspective, Apel reformulated the difference between understanding (Verstehen
) and explanation (Erklärung), which originated in the hermeneutics of Wilhelm Dilthey
and interpretive sociology of Max Weber
, on the basis of a Peircean-inspired transcendental-pragmatic account of language. This account of the "lifeworld
" would become an element of the theory of communicative action and discourse ethics
, which Apel co-developed with Jürgen Habermas
. 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" that is more closely tied to empirical social inquiry.
Apel has also written works on Charles Sanders Peirce and is a past president of the C.S. Peirce Society.
An early German-speaking adversary of so-called critical rationalism, Apel published a refutation of the philosophy of Karl Raimund Popper: In Transformation der Philosophie (1973), Apel charged Popper with being guilty of, amongst other things, a pragmatic contradiction.
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, the philosophy of language
Philosophy of language
Philosophy of language is the reasoned inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of language. As a topic, the philosophy of language for analytic philosophers is concerned with four central problems: the nature of meaning, language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language...
and human sciences. He wrote extensively in these fields, publishing mostly in German. He influenced other philosophers writing in Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
Academic positions
Apel earned his Ph.D.Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
in 1950. He was appointed lecturer at the University of Mainz in 1961. He was a full professor of philosophy at the University of Kiel
University of Kiel
The University of Kiel is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 23,000 students today...
from 1962 to 1969, at the University of Saarbrücken from 1969 to 1972, and at the University of Frankfurt am Main from 1972 to 1990. In 1990 he transferred to emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
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
Academia Europaea
Academia Europæa is a European non-governmental scientific academy founded in 1988. Its members are scientists and scholars who collectively aim to promote learning, education and research. It publishes European Review through Cambridge Journals....
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.
Philosophy
Apel's work brings together the Analytical and ContinentalContinental philosophy
Continental philosophy, in contemporary usage, refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from mainland Europe. This sense of the term originated among English-speaking philosophers in the second half of the 20th century, who used it to refer to a range of thinkers and...
philosophical traditions, especially pragmatism
Pragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...
and the critical theory
Critical theory
Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...
of the Frankfurt School
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
.
In Understanding and Explanation: A Transcendental-Pragmatic Perspective, Apel reformulated the difference between understanding (Verstehen
Verstehen
Verstehen is an ordinary German word with exactly the same meaning as the English word "understand". However, since the late 19th century in the context of German philosophy and social sciences, it has also been used in the special sense of "interpretive or participatory examination" of social...
) and explanation (Erklärung), which originated in the hermeneutics of Wilhelm Dilthey
Wilhelm Dilthey
Wilhelm Dilthey was a German historian, psychologist, sociologist and hermeneutic philosopher, who held Hegel's Chair in Philosophy at the University of Berlin. As a polymathic philosopher, working in a modern research university, Dilthey's research interests revolved around questions of...
and interpretive sociology of Max Weber
Max Weber
Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...
, on the basis of a Peircean-inspired transcendental-pragmatic account of language. This account of the "lifeworld
Lifeworld
Lifeworld may be conceived as a universe of what is self-evident or given, a world that subjects may experience together. For Husserl, the lifeworld is the fundament for all epistemological enquiries. The concept has its origin in biology and cultural Protestantism.The lifeworld concept is used in...
" would become an element of the theory of communicative action and discourse ethics
Discourse ethics
Discourse ethics, sometimes called argumentation ethics, refers to a type of argument that attempts to establish normative or ethical truths by examining the presuppositions of discourse.-Habermas and Apel:...
, which Apel co-developed with Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his theory on the concepts of 'communicative rationality' and the 'public sphere'...
. 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" that is more closely tied to empirical social inquiry.
Apel has also written works on Charles Sanders Peirce and is a past president of the C.S. Peirce Society.
An early German-speaking adversary of so-called critical rationalism, Apel published a refutation of the philosophy of Karl Raimund Popper: In Transformation der Philosophie (1973), Apel charged Popper with being guilty of, amongst other things, a pragmatic contradiction.
List of Works
- Analytic Philosophy of Language and the Geisteswissenschaften (1967),
- Hermeneutik und Ideologiekritik (1971),
- Sprache, Brucke 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 uber Erklaren und Verstehen (1978),
- Die Erklaren: 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 communicazione umana (1985),
- Diskurs und Verantwortung: Das Problem des Ubergangs zur Postkonventionellen Moral (1988),
- Towards a Transcendental SemioticsSemioticsSemiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
: 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),
- Funf Vorlesungen uber Transzendental Semiotik als Erste Philosophie und Diskursethik (2002),
- Diskursethik und Diskursanthropologie (2002)