Last week the Maritain Fellows closed out their 2025-2026 lecture series with an address by Prof. Vittorio Hösle. Co-sponsored by the Department of German, Slavic, and Eurasian Studies, the lecture considered the questions, “What is Philosophy, Rightly Understood? And Why Does it Matter for Society at Large?”
Miss the lecture? Not to worry - it's on the Maritain Center Videos page.
During his lecture, Prof. Hösle considered at length the ends of philosophy and its various sub-disciplines. Having begun his career in Germany, where he was educated and reached the rank of Full Professor at the University of Essen, Prof. Hösle considered at length the differences between the US and European University systems. In particular, Prof. Hösle extolled the merits of the lecture system, where an expert in a given field delivers a course of lectures designed to introduce a wide range of persons—whether undergraduates or faculty at the institution—to the topic in question. This aspect of the German universities Prof. Hösle highlighted as particularly useful for cultivating a culture where knowledge, rather than credits and credentials, is the end of education, and where communities of learners of all ranks and disciplines develop collaborations and friendships.
Prof. Hösle’s lecture marked not only the end of the 2025/2026 Maritain Fellows lecture series, but also the final lecture organized by Arjun Wasan, the first President of the Maritain Fellows’ undergraduate chapter, who is graduating this month. A student of Prof. Hösle’s—who is also in his final weeks at Notre Dame—Arjun organized the event in part to celebrate Prof. Hösle’s 25+ years at the University. Adding a personal touch, Prof. Hösle’s thoughts on philosophical education at this turning point in his career included not only reflections on his time teaching and researching at Notre Dame, but also his memories of arriving at Notre Dame during the harsh northern Indiana winter!
A testament to Prof. Hösle’s impact, more than 80 students and faculty attended his final lecture as a Notre Dame Professor and celebrated his time here during the reception and dinner. The Maritain Center is grateful to Prof. Hösle’s service to the University and participation in the Center’s programming, including in the History of Philosophy Forum. Reflecting on the event and Prof. Hösle's time at Notre Dame, Maritain Center Director Therese Cory remarked, "Vittorio has been an inspiring presence at Notre Dame for a quarter of a century, and we are grateful for the wisdom that he shared with our Maritain Center and History of Philosophy Forum communities. I will very much miss his erudite, incisive, and often humorous comments during discussions after talks, and his unparalleled ability to offer a comprehensive perspective on the history of philosophy, as beautifully illustrated by his farewell talk."
