The academic correspondence of Emil Lask (1875-1915)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Andreas Funke
• Subject Area: Principles of Law and Jurisprudence
• Term: from 2022 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 504267512

Emil Lask (1875-1915) is, along with Wilhelm Windelband (1848-1918) and Heinrich Rickert (1863-1936), one of the most important representatives of philosophical Neo-Kantianism of the so-called Southwest German strain. Neo-Kantianism was one of the leading university philosophies at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. It had an impact in many respects beyond philosophy into other fields such as jurisprudence, literary studies, art history and education. Max Weber's Verstehende Soziologie, Georg Jellinek's Staatslehre, Georg Lukács' Ästhetik, Gustav Radbruch's Rechtsphilosophie and Hans Kelsen's Rechtstheorie, for example, received decisive impulses from Neukantianism and, conversely, gave shape to Neo-Kantianism. The edition brings together all of Emil Lask's preserved academic correspondence. The focus is on the intensive scholarly exchange with Heinrich Rickert, Lask's academic teacher. The edition makes it possible to trace the development of Lask's thought beyond his few publications, and it becomes clear to what extent Lask distanced himself from Neo-Kantianism, for example by turning to Edmund Husserl's phenomenology. At the same time, the correspondence reveals a variety of insights into the German university landscape of the early 20th century.

• DFG Programme: Publication Grants