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    The McMaster Department of Philosophy has now put together the following notice commemorating Barry: Barry Allen: A Philosophical Life Barry…

In Memoriam: Frithjof Bergmann (1930-2021)

Brian Leiter

MOVING TO FRONT FROM YESTERDAY–UPDATED

A longtime member of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he was emeritus, Professor Bergmann was a popular undergraduate lecturer in courses on existentialism and 19th-century German philosophy, and author of articles on Hegel and Nietzsche, as well as the book On Being Free (1977).  From the 1980s onwards, he became best-known as the proseltyzer for what he called "New Work" (see, e.g., this interview), which gained substantial attention in Germany in recent years.  There is an obituary in a German newspaper here. 

I will add links to other memorial notices as they appear.

ANOTHER:  A video memorial from one of those influenced by Bergmann's ideas about "new work" (in German, but with English subtitles).

UPDATE:  The Michigan memorial notice is here.

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6 responses to “In Memoriam: Frithjof Bergmann (1930-2021)”

  1. Daniel A. Kaufman

    When I was a student at Michigan — 1986-1990 — Frithjof was much loved ny the students and his Existentialism course was almost a rite of passage. A terrible loss and much love to his family.

    Reply
  2. Karen Bennett

    I graded for him my first year in graduate school, in 1993. I suddenly remember him calling me a "scared little bunny rabbit" — which I certainly was, though maybe he didn't need to call me out on it! His ideas about work should be revisited now, with the pandemic, remote work, the gig economy…. RIP.

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  3. David Zimmerman

    I was grader for Frithjof in 1964-5-6 in his Philosophy in Literature course. [The other one was Bob Solomon.] I shall always be grateful to him for providing this early support in my fledgling philosophy career.

    Philosophy 412 was indeed, as another commenter has noted, a kind of rite of passage for [forgive me] hip undergraduates of that time. Frithjof lectured [always ex temtpore] on the likes of Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Kafka, Sartre…. and Bergmann, in a smoke filled hall, with the rapt attention of 40-plus students.

    So, another note of gratitude is his awakening in me an interest in the intersection of philosophy and literature, without which I probably would not have ended up teaching philosophy in literature courses for many years at my home university, Simon Fraser.

    I must say that, unlike Professor Bennett, Frithjof spared me the appellation "scared little rabbit," but I have no doubt that, like her but many years earlier, I was one too.

    About Frithjof's pioneering ideas about the "new work" agenda, I am less enthusiastic… without, I hope, being seen as speaking ill of the dead. My reservation is that it made too many concessions to the role and power of corporations, most notably General Motors. Frithjof was no socialist. But still, the lot of industrial workers would have been immeasurably better if his ideas had even been enacted.

    It is a pity that when he retired, the Michigan department did not hire someone in his areas of interest to replace him…..Not much enthusiasm for it, I guess.

    Farewell Frithjof.

    Reply
  4. richardfeldman

    Dear Family and friends of my dear friends and comrade Fritjof Bergman:

    When I was a young Ann Arbor student activist in 1967-1970, I had the privilege to take a FB Philosophy class. While he taught me a great deal, I was young and learned a little about dialectics, freedom and the importance of dreaming. 50 years later, I still reference his teachings. For decades our paths crossed when he met with the youth of Detroit Summer in the 1990s and for the past 10-15 years with our work committed to New Work-New Culture. We had significant conversations with Grace Lee Boggs, Kim Sherobbi, Blair Evans, Barbara Stachoski, Frank Joyce, Maryanne Barnett, Emmanuel Pratt, James Godsill and many many more. His love for humanity, his love of the question: ""What do you really, really, really want? " provides an astonishing ink between the individual and the society,
    Thank you Fritjof. I know that you and Grace & James Boggs will continue to engage in tremendous conversations because you always cared and "gave a damn."
    richardfeldman60@gmail.com

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  5. Robert Howell

    Frithjof was my doctoral supervisor on Kant in the mid-60s; like David Zimmerman, I graded for Philosophy 412, and I also took his Nineteenth Century philosophy seminar, sat in on other classes, and talked to him about everything from contemporary German poetry to the political situation then. I saw a lot of him later when he was teaching in California. I went off in a very different direction, intellectually and personally, and, to my regret, lost touch. But he's remained a touchstone, for me, of why we do philosophy and stay alive. He was devoted to — and he very much furthered — human emancipation. May his seriousness, his ideas, and his personal influence long endure.

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  6. Michigan Undergraduate

    Professor Bergmann was very inspiring: I took Existentialism, Philosophy in Literature, and Contemporary Continental Philosophy (Phil 465). My condolences to his family and friends. Needless to say he influenced my life tremendously. Because I had another Professor in the political science department, Prof. Alfred G. Meyer who taught a course Communist Political Thought I came to the conclusion that New Work is an apolitical approach to capitalism. Since Meyer subsequently impressed upon me the important role that Marx and Engels play in analyzing social and political problems in the world I prefer the political approach. Capitalism produces poverty which cries out for a political solution. I felt stunned when I heard about Prof. Bergmann’s death: after all, he felt it was an accomplishment if he could really teach someone something. In this he succeeded. Thank you Prof. Bergmann!

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