Die Philosophiegeschichtsschreibung im Ersten Weltkrieg

How can we describe the position of German philosophy on the outbreak of World War I, on the resurgence of nationalism that competed with the European ideal of unity, and on the emergence of a global landscape of philosophy after the catastrophe of 1914–18? In their »intellectual mobilization« during the war, philosophers often used, even instrumentalized, the classical authors of the history of philosophy to support nationalist intentions. This led to a deformation of the historical narratives of philosophy, which, as early as 1900, ranged from a restitution of the nationalistic perspective and a widening global perspective. For many years, the narrative of competing national histories of the philosophy prevailed, and it continues to provide a frame of reference today. The present collection sets out to analyze and move beyond these stereotypes to address, on a transnational level, the impact of the war of 1914–18 on the work of historians of philosophy in Germany, France, Italy and the Anglo-Saxon world. The essays thus contribute to overcoming the fragmentation that characterizes the historiography of the history of philosophy in Europe in the early twentieth century. With contributions by Prof. Dr. Olivier Agard, Prof. Dr. Elena Alessiato, Dr. Jörn Bohr, PD Dr. Arne Karsten, Prof. Antonello La Vergata and Prof. Dr. Ursula Renz.