The book Das Vico-Axiom, published in 1976, marked the academic emergence of a thinker who spent his career reconciling idealistic traditions with the realities of human experience. Born in Jelenia Góra in 1939, this German philosopher consistently questioned the dominance of analytic methods, carving out an independent intellectual path while navigating the turbulent landscape of twentieth-century continental thought.
Formative Academic Influences
Fellmann pursued his education at the University of Münster, the University of Pavia, and eventually the University of Giessen. During his time in Giessen between 1962 and 1965, he studied under Hans Robert Jauss and Hans Blumenberg. The intellectual tension between his mentors, divided by their disparate histories involving the Nazi regime, compelled Fellmann to develop his own distinct perspective. He completed his doctorate in Bochum in 1967 and earned his Habilitation in Münster in 1973.
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His early work, particularly the 1976 study of Vico, rejected Hegelian idealism in favor of a cultural anthropology where human agency is central yet limited by historical forces. As his career progressed, Fellmann moved away from pure historiography toward systematic inquiry. By 1980, he was appointed Professor of Philosophy at the University of Münster, later moving to Chemnitz University of Technology in 1994 as a founding professor.
Media Theory and the Imagic Turn
In the 1980s and 1990s, he explored the intersection of phenomenology and media theory. Through works such as Phänomenologie als ästhetische Theorie and Symbolischer Pragmatismus, he challenged the notion that world-construction is an exclusively linguistic process. He proposed an 'Imagic turn,' arguing that mental imagery possesses an autonomous, magical dimension that remains distinct from intentional signs.
Ethics and the Art of Living
Fellmann’s later research focused on a modern philosophy of life, synthesized in books like Lebensphilosophie and his 2005 work, The Couple: An erotic Justification of Man. He argued that rational systems fail to account for the uncontrollable emotions and desires that provide humans with stability. By defining erotic bonding as a form of justification, he directly challenged the epistemic frameworks championed by contemporaries such as Jürgen Habermas.
Fast facts
- Born: 1939, Jelenia Góra
- Died: 2019, Münster
- Citizenship: Germany
- Education: University of Giessen
- Primary Employer: Chemnitz University of Technology
- Key Field: Philosophical anthropology
Questions readers ask
What did Fellmann mean by the 'Imagic turn'?
He proposed that images function as autonomous symbolic forms between sign and language, possessing a magical dimension that is not fully resolved by human intent.
How did he view human history?
Drawing on Vico, he argued that while humans are the originators of history, they cannot control its progression through mere will or consciousness.
Achievements
- Held posts at Chemnitz University of Technology
- Fields: philosophy and philosophical anthropology
