A building for diversity, openness and freedom
„We must learn to doubt. The modern world cannot function without doubt.“
Ágnes Heller
Ágnes Heller (1929–2019) was one of the most important philosophers of her time. She was born in Budapest and survived the Nazi terror in Hungary as a child of Jewish parents, while many of her closest relatives were murdered. She studied philosophy under Georg Lukács and was one of the most important representatives of the „Budapest School“, which criticised Soviet communism.
Due to her critical attitude towards the Communist Party in Hungary, she was soon forbidden from publishing any more books. When she and her husband Ferenc Fehér also lost their jobs, they finally decided to emigrate to Australia. Heller held a professorship in sociology at La Trobe University in Melbourne from 1978, and became a professor at the New School for Social Research in New York in 1986.
Heller was a representative of critical theory and humanist philosophy. Among other things, she focused on the relationship between life and freedom and the role of art and morality in modern society. She criticized totalitarianism, nationalism, fundamentalism and neoliberalism. She advocated for an open, democratic and pluralistic society, in which people are free to shape their individual and collective identities.
She has received numerous awards and honours, including an honorary doctorate of philosophy from the University of Innsbruck in 2015, and wrote about 40 monographs and numerous articles.
Ágnes Heller died in July 2019 at the age of 90 in a tragic swimming accident at Lake Balaton in Hungary. She travelled restlessly around the world as a visiting professor and lecturer until the end, leaving behind a rich and diverse philosophical legacy that continues to inspire and challenge many people.
In 2023, the University of Innsbruck named its new building on Innrain in memory of the great philosopher. „May Ágnes Heller‘s critical spirit, her creative curiosity, her constructive doubt, her empathy and her courage inspire all those who frequent this building,“ philosopher Josef Mitterer wished on the occasion of the opening of this building.