Abstract

This paper primarily examines the biography of Hans Jonas from the perspectives of identity and “othering”. Originally a sociological concept associated with a person’s or group’s identity, it has more recently become a central concept in philosophy as well. The paper investigates Jonas’s national identity, in relation to corresponding processes of othering, as well as his linguistic identity. Despite the profound traumas he endured – most notably the Shoah, which claimed his mother’s life – Jonas maintained his German linguistic identity. Perhaps this was also the decisive reason why he decided to bequeath his scholarly estate to the Philosophical Archive at the University of Konstanz.