Arnold Gehlen in the Young Federal Republic - His (Re-)Integration into the Scientific System at the Crossroads of Philosophy and Sociology

• Applicant: Dr. Anne Wilken
• Subject Area: History of Philosophy
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 505153283

The first objective is to find an answer to the following research questions: Which role does Arnold Gehlen play in the restructuring of academic philosophy in the young Federal Republic?Which reasons lead to the decision not to keep Gehlen in the subject of philosophy at a university, but to admit him to the subject of sociology at universities of applied sciences?Are these reasons to be found in his political involvement during the National Socialist era? Does his philosophical achievement play a decisive role?Who are the key players in the institutional context (advocates, opponents)? Is Gehlen part of a network or an academic outsider? To what extent is Gehlen‘s case exemplary for a historical analysis of the reconstruction of academic philosophy (seminars, academies, societies, journals) in the young Federal Republic?By analysing the letters systematically, I would like to find out in which role Gehlen is to be located in the constellation of academic philosophy and sociology in the young Federal Republic.Another objective is to initialize the preliminary work for a letter edition. Here, I would like to take first steps to develop criteria for the selection of Arnold Gehlen's letters.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position