Herbert Marcuse German and American philosopher and sociologist Date of Birth: 19.07.1898 Country: Germany

Biography of Herbert Marcuse

Herbert Marcuse, a German-American philosopher and sociologist, was born on July 19, 1898, in a Jewish family in Berlin. During World War I, he was drafted into the German army. He was able to merge Marxism, existentialism, and Freudianism in his views. In his youth, Marcuse was very enthusiastic about socialist ideas. He participated in the November Revolution and the socialist uprising of the "Spartacus League". Even after leaving the ranks of the Social Democratic Party, he maintained his connection with the labor movement. Marcuse's philosophical views were greatly shaped by his teacher, Martin Heidegger. Later, while working at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt, Marcuse was strongly influenced by Marxism and Freudianism. He noted that the issues discussed in the works of Marx and Freud were similar. After the Nazis came to power, Marcuse emigrated to the United States. Along with other representatives of the Frankfurt School of philosophy, they brought some European traditions into American education.

It was a great shock for Marcuse that his teacher Heidegger remained in Nazi Germany and supported the new regime, unwilling to give up his professorship. Later, when working as an expert on denazification in post-war Germany, Marcuse was most interested in the motives of people who supported Hitler. Marcuse's works criticize classical Marxism and Soviet Marxism-Leninism. He does not believe in the leading role of the working class, as he argues that the consumer society corrupts everyone, including the working class. In his book "One-Dimensional Man," he discusses the contemporary classless society, far from communism. Marcuse recognizes the marginalized individuals as the only force capable of revolution, as they have nothing to oppose to the system except for a total rejection of its values.

Herbert Marcuse passed away on June 29, 1979, in Starnberg, Germany, at the age of 80.