Hans Albert 1921 – 2023
Hans Albert was a German philosopher, sociologist, and the principal continental representative of critical rationalism, the tradition founded by Karl Popper. After service in the Wehrmacht and a postwar doctorate in economics, he taught for nearly three decades at Mannheim, where he engaged the leading German thinkers of his time, especially the hermeneutics of Gadamer and the critical theory of Habermas, in long and celebrated debates. His Treatise on Critical Reason developed the famous Munchhausen trilemma against foundationalism in epistemology and defended a thoroughgoing fallibilism.
Key facts
- Nationality
- German
- Era
- Contemporary
- Movements
- Analytic
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Hans Albert:
“There is no escape from criticism.”
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Attributed to Hans Albert:
“Pancritical rationalism is the only honest form of philosophy.”
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Attributed to Hans Albert:
“Foundationalism leads to the trilemma of infinite regress, circularity, or dogmatic stop.”
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Attributed to Hans Albert:
“All our knowledge is conjectural, and remains so.”
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Attributed to Hans Albert:
“Hermeneutics is no substitute for the search for truth.”