Groningen Plessner Conference
Location: Tammeszaal, fourth floor of the University Library of RUG (Groningen University) – Broerstraat 4, 9712 CP Groningen
The Helmuth Plessner Society, in cooperation with the University Library of the University of Groningen, is organizing a workshop on Philosophical Anthropology in Groningen on 22 and 23 January 2026. The conference pursues two central aims: First, it seeks to revisit existing controversies regarding the systematic status of Helmuth Plessner’s Philosophical Anthropology and to critically examine them in the light of current research by early-career scholars. Second, the conference seeks to open new perspectives and research questions in the context of Plessner’s correspondence and the Republic of Letters.
NB: The lectures will be held in English.
Negative, Positive, or Reflexive Anthropology? On the Controversy Concerning the Systematic Status of Helmuth Plessner’s Philosophical Anthropology
(Thursday, 22 January)
On Thursday, three keynote lectures will be presented, each followed by a commentary by an early-career researcher:
09:30 am Introduction
09:45 am – 11:15 am
Hans-Peter Krüger (Potsdam), in his lecture titled “The Negativity of the Absolute Enables Positivity and Reflexivity,” discusses an approach of negative anthropology, which denies that the human form of life can be determined by properties or characteristics. The commentary will be given by Dominik Harrer (Linz) with the title: “The Act of Negation and the Negated as Object. Exploring the Various Meanings of the Term ‘Negative Anthropology’.”
11:30 am – 13:00 pm
Joachim Fischer (Dresden), in his talk titled “Eccentric Positionality. Helmuth Plessner’s Philosophical Anthropology – A Paradigm between Naturalism and Culturalism,” presents positive anthropology, which aims to formulate substantive claims about human properties and structures. The commentary will be provided by Annalena Hagenbrock (Koblenz-Landau), whose contribution is titled: “The Theory of Life Form – Michael Thompson and Helmuth Plessner.”
14:30 pm – 16:00 pm
Gesa Lindemann (Oldenburg/Berlin), in her presentation “Reflexive Anthropology – A Fundamental Transformation of the Open Question,” addresses reflexive anthropology and discusses how societies themselves define the boundaries of who or what counts as a socially relevant actor – and thereby also what is understood as anthropos. The lecture will be commented on by Leonis Krude (Vienna) with the title: “Rethinking Universality: The Significance of Reflexive Anthropology for Intercultural Philosophy.”
By juxtaposing these three influential anthropological approaches, relating them to one another, and subjecting them to critical commentary, the workshop seeks to reinvigorate ongoing discussions and stimulate a forward-looking impulse.
16:00 – 18:00 pm
Reception in the hallway of the university library. During the reception, short tours round the Groningen Plessner Archives will be organized at the Special Collections (3rd floor of the library).
Helmuth Plessner and the Republic of Letters – A Workshop on Intellectual Exchange and Disciplinary Formation in Epistolary Network Analysis
(Friday, 23 January)
In the dynamic intellectual landscapes of the modern era, correspondence served not only as a means of personal communication but also as a crucial vehicle for disciplinary formation and academic network building. The letters of Helmuth Plessner (1892–1985), one of the most influential thinkers in German philosophical anthropology, offer a unique window into these processes. His correspondence reflects not only the development of his own thought — from early phenomenological influences to his later contributions to cultural anthropology and sociology — but also the complex interactions with other humanities disciplines during a time of profound societal and academic transformation.
This workshop focuses on the network analysis of scholarly letters and the ways in which the "republic of letters" contributed to the formation of new intellectual paradigms and disciplinary boundaries. Central to the discussion is the question of how letters served not only as a vehicle for the exchange of ideas but also for forging institutional and personal alliances that helped shape the contours of modern humanities. By examining the digital, material, and intellectual dimensions of historical collections of letters and their metadata, we aim to provide insight into the role of informal networks in the professionalization of scholarship and the rise of cultural anthropology as an interdisciplinary field.
The workshop invites critical reflection on the significance of correspondence for understanding academic culture, the interplay of personal and professional relationships, and the enduring relevance of Plessner’s work to contemporary debates on interdisciplinarity and intellectual historiography. What lessons can we draw from Plessner’s epistolary practices for academic life today? And how can we read his networks as a map of the intellectual history of modern humanities? These and other questions will be explored during the workshop, with ample opportunity for discussion and exchange among participants.
Program
09:15 am Introduction
09:30 am – 10:00 am.
John Exalto, Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670), intellectual networks, and expanding education space in the mid-17th century
Exalto works as assistant professor in theory and history of education and curator of the ADNG Heritage Centre for the Dutch Behavioural Sciences at the University of Groningen. His research focuses on early modern and modern educational concepts and practices, with a particular focus on the seventeenth-century Czech philosopher Johannes Amos Comenius, who lived for nearly fifteen years in Amsterdam. He is also interested in the emergence of educational studies as an academic discipline at European universities during the first half of the twentieth century.
coffee break
10:20 am – 10:50 am
Hugo Hogenbirk, Disciplinary Formation: Concepts and People in a Republic of Letters?
Hogenbirk is a philosopher with a background in computer science and digital humanities. His work concerns both contemporary theoretical philosophy (especially in relation to the analysis of the semantics and metaphysics of fiction) and conceptual/intellectual history, in particular discipline formation. Currently, I'm working on the conceptual history of "worldview" in the project "Culture Wars and Modern Worldviews" based at the University of Groningen. Here, I combine close reading and computational modelling of the concept over time in parliamentary, book and newspaper corpora. At Leiden University I work as a lecturer, teaching topics like Metaphilosophy, Metaphysics of Fiction, Logic, and Philosophical Skills. Some other related interests resulting from the above activities include the history of science, methodological innovations in semantic modelling, the philosophy of mathematics and the philosophy of Anne Conway.
11:00 am – 11:30 am
Dirk van Miert, The “Republic of Letters” in the 20th century as concept and as praxis: a context of Plessner’s epistolary network in times of persecution, war and exile.
Van Miert is director of the Huygens Institute for History and Culture of the Netherlands (KNAW) and professor of History of Knowledge from a Digital Perspective. He specializes in the early modern Republic of Letters and has written extensively about epistolary networks of learned men and women. An introduction to the subject is his entry Intellectual and Academic Networks 1450–1800 in the online encylopedie Europäische Geschichte Online. His best quoted article is "What was the Republic of Letters? A brief introduction to a long history (1417-2008)" (published appropriately, for this audience, in Groniek).
11:40 am – 12:30 pm: Closing remarks + discussion
Participation in the workshop is free of charge.
We look forward to welcoming you!