Walter Biemel (editor) - The Heidegger-Jaspers Correspondence (1920-1963) (Contemporary Studies in Philosophy and the Human Sciences.)

he history of German philosophy is the history of philosophy professors, and the letters contained in this volume are written by two of the foremost among them. Because the academic and philosophical context of the exchange of letters between Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers might be unfamiliar to a general reader, I offer some background in order to facilitate a clearer understanding of the correspondence and documents presented here.

In the letters, one is immediately confronted with references to academic ranks, titles, and procedures that are unfamiliar to an American audience; this holds as well for the division and organization of the academic faculties. The following description will characterize the German university of the 1920s, the time of the most intensive correspondence between Heidegger and Jaspers, and the most formative period of their philosophizing. Many of its features still hold today.

The German university is divided into four faculties (more or less equivalent to those in American universities) each headed by a Dean (Dekan): medicine, law, theology, and philosophy. The first three are concerned with professional training in their respective areas, and the philosophy faculty contains the liberal arts and sciences, including, of course, philosophy as a separate discipline. It should be noted, however, that when reference is made to the philosophy faculty, any number of disciplines may be meant, e.g., ancient history or economics.

Another concern is the order of academic ranks. These designations derive from the Prussian General Code of 1794 and the Disciplinary Law of 1852, and are arranged as follows: a Professor Ordinarius draws a regular salary from the Ministry of Culture with a rank equal to a Councillor of State 4th or 3rd class, and is also compensated with lecture and examination fees paid by the students; a university Rector (President) holds a rank and draws a salary equal to a Councillor of State 2nd class; a Professor Extraordinarius also draws a regular salary from the Ministry with a rank equal to a Councillor of State 5th class, and is also compensated with student fees; a Privatdozent (Lecturer) is not a government official and does not enjoy a regular salary but is compensated with lecture fees alone. The Dozent has earned the right to teach at a university, the venia legendi, by completing the doctoral degree and then writing a second, qualifying dissertation-the Habilitation. In addition to these designations, a very distinguished professor may be rewarded with an even higher personal title, e.g., Gebeimrat (Privy Councillor). Needless to say, those who hold the rank of Professor Ordinarius enjoy much more power, security and prestige than a mere Dozent.