Hedwig Conrad-Martius

Hedwig Conrad-Martius
Hedwig Conrad-Martius
Born	February 27, 1888; Berlin, German Empire
Died	February 15, 1966 (aged 77); Starnberg, West Germany
Spouse	Theodor Conrad
Education
Education	Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München; University of Göttingen
Academic advisor	Adolf Reinach
Philosophical work
Era	20th-century philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Munich phenomenology
Institutions	Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Main interests	Ontology

Hedwig Conrad-Martius (27 February 1888 – 15 February 1966) was a German phenomenologist who became a Christian mystic.

Biography

She initially considered a literary career, but later became interested in philosophy. This started at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. She also studied at the University of Göttingen. To celebrate its foundation festival, the University of Göttingen gave in 1912 a prize to the best original work on a philosophical topic. The names of all competitors were sealed, opened only after declaring a winner. Of about 200 philosophical works, only hers, titled "The Intuitional-Theoretical Principles of Positivism", was awarded the prize.^[1] She later became known for work on an ontology of reality.

She also married Theodor Conrad who helped provide for her, as at this time women academics tended to struggle to make a living. As she had one Jewish grandparent her work was stalled by the rise of Nazism.^[2] At some point, she became religiously active as a Protestant.

Connection to Edith Stein

Edith Stein's interest in Catholicism came during a visit to her home. Although Protestant, Conrad-Martius would late receive a dispensation so she could be Edith Stein's godmother.^[3]

Works

Die erkenntnistheoretischen Grundlagen des Positivismus, Bergzabern 1920
Metaphysische Gespräche, Halle 1921
Realontologie, in: Jahrbuch für Philosophie und phänomenologische Forschung, 6 (1923), 159–333
Zur Ontologie und Erscheinungslehre der realen Außenwelt. Verbunden mit einer Kritik positivistischer Theorien, in: Jahrbuch für Philosophie und phänomenologische Forschung 3 (1916)
Die „Seele“ der Pflanze. Biologisch-ontologische Betrachtungen, Breslau 1934
Abstammungslehre, Munich 1949 (Ursprünglich unter dem Titel „Ursprung und Aufbau des lebendigen Kosmos“ erschienen, Kosmos 1938)
Der Selbstaufbau der Natur, Entelechien und Energien, Hamburg 1944
Bios und Psyche, Hamburg 1949
Die Zeit, Munich 1954
Utopien der Menschenzüchtung. Der Sozialdarwinismus und seine Folgen, Munich 1955
Das Sein, Munich 1957
Der Raum, Munich 1958
Étude sur la Métaphore, Paris 1958
Die Geistseele des Menschen, Munich 1960
Schriften zur Philosophie I-III, im Einverständnis mit der Verfasserin herausgeben von Eberhard Avé-Lallemant, Munich 1963–1965

References

↑ "German Fraulein is a Clever Thinker". The San Francisco Examiner. 22 September 1912 – via History of Women Philosophers.
↑ The phenomenological movement: A historical introduction by Herbert Spiegelberg (Springer, 1981), pp. 212-214
↑ Sylvie Courtine-Denamy (2000). Three Women in Dark Times: Edith Stein, Hannah Arendt, Simone Weil. Cornell University Press. p. 42. ISBN 0801487587.

External links

Hedwig Conrad-Martius: bibliographical and biographical references – Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists

[1] "German Fraulein is a Clever Thinker". The San Francisco Examiner. 22 September 1912 – via History of Women Philosophers.

[2] The phenomenological movement: A historical introduction by Herbert Spiegelberg (Springer, 1981), pp. 212-214

[3] Sylvie Courtine-Denamy (2000). Three Women in Dark Times: Edith Stein, Hannah Arendt, Simone Weil. Cornell University Press. p. 42. ISBN 0801487587.

[1]

[2]

[3]