an academic genealogy

• G. W. F. Hegel (1770-1831), Professor in Berlin, where he taught

• Adolf Trendelenburg (1802-1872) who also taught in Berlin, where he was doctoral sponsor to

• Ernst Laas (1837-1885) who was a teacher of

• Paul Natop (1954-1922), who together with Hermann Cohen (1842-1918), was the doctoral sponsor of

• Hans Reichenbach (1891-1953), who was the principal teacher in Berlin of

• Carl G. Hempel (1905-1997)

Hempel, who taught at Pitt during his "retired" years, had at earlier stages of his career been a teacher to Nicholas Rescher at Queens College, Adolf Grünbaum at Yale, and Gerald Massey, Robert Brandom, and John Earman at Princeton. Moreover, Wesley Salmon was a student of Reichenbach's at UCLA.

On this basis, our present student are entitled to claim Hegel as one of their academic ancestors.

I am indebted to Gereon Wolters of Konstanz for some of the information.

Nicholas Rescher
28 November 2006

My dear colleagues:

Happy 2008!

As a New Year’s present I send you a supplement to the academic genealogy I circulated to you earlier on.

• G W. Leibniz (1646-1717) was a correspondent and mentor of his disciple

• Christian Wolff (1679-1754) who was the prime inspiration of his disciple

• Martin Knutzen (1713-1751) who was the teacher in Königsberg of

• Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) who was philosophical mentor to his principal disciple

• Karl Reinhold (1758-1823) who made Jena a center for Kantianism, but earlier was the chief teacher in Kiel of

• Adolf Trendelenburg (1802-1872), who was doctoral sponsor in Berlin of

• Hermann Cohen (1842-1918) who together with Paul Natorp (1854-1922) was the doctoral sponsor in Berlin of

• Ernst Cassirer (1874-1945), who in Berlin taught

• Hans Reichenbach (1891-1953), who was the principal teacher in Berlin of

• Carl G. Hempel (1905-1997)

Hempel, who taught during his “retired” years at Pitt had at earlier stages of his career been a teacher of N. Rescher (at Queens College), A. Gr ü nbaum (at Yale), and G. Massey, R. Brandom, and J. Earman at Princeton and Ken Manders at Berkeley. Moreover Wesley Salmon was a student of Reichenbach’s at UCLA.

Note that from Reinhold (b. 1758) onwards we have an unbroken teacher/student line.

Moreover, an alternate line to Pitt runs:

Trendelenburg > George Sylvester Morris (1840-89: obscure but important Hegelian in his day who also taught John Dewey at Johns Hopkins) > Josiah Royce ® W. E. Hocking > Filmer S. Northrop > Frederic Fitch (and thence to our Yalies Anderson & Belnap)

Also--Royce studied with Lotze in Göttingen which opens up other connections.

On this basis, our present students here at Pitt are entitled to claim continuity with one of the mainstream traditions of German philosophy.

I am indebted to Gereon Wolters and Balazs Gyenis for some of this information.

Nicholas Rescher
10 January 2008