1001Philosophers

Alfred Schmidt Quotes

Alfred Schmidt was a German philosopher and long-time professor at Frankfurt and one of the principal interpreters of the Frankfurt School in the second half of the twentieth century. A pupil of Adorno and Horkheimer, he served as a major editor of Horkheimer's collected writings and as co-editor of the journal Studies in Critical Theory. The quotes below are attributed to Alfred Schmidt, organized by topic.

Alfred Schmidt on Freedom

  • Attributed to Alfred Schmidt:

    “Emancipation is meaningless apart from the materiality of life.”

Alfred Schmidt on Knowledge

  • Attributed to Alfred Schmidt:

    “Critical theory must hold together natural and social science.”

Alfred Schmidt on Nature

  • Attributed to Alfred Schmidt:

    “For Marx, nature is the matter of human history.”

  • Attributed to Alfred Schmidt:

    “Materialism is not a metaphysics but the recognition of human dependence.”

  • Attributed to Alfred Schmidt:

    “Nature is the body of human history.”

Read all Alfred Schmidt quotes on Nature