Peter Bieri (1944–2023) passed away on June 27, 2023, at the age of 79.
Bieri was influential in the development of analytic philosophy in the German-speaking world, among other things through the volumes he edited, Analytische Philosophie des Geistes (Hain 1981) and Analytische Philosophie der Erkenntnis (Athenäum 1987). He also expressed critical views on certain developments in analytic philosophy. He argued that an overly strong focus on formal argumentation sometimes makes philosophy resemble “hobby mathematics,” and that philosophical questions can sound like mere logical games (see his essay “Was bleibt von der analytischen Philosophie?” in DZPhil, 2007).
In 1993, Bieri was appointed to a professorship in philosophy at Freie Universität Berlin, which he relinquished in 2007. Under the pseudonym “Pascal Mercier,” he published numerous novels, including Perlmanns Schweigen (Albrecht Knaus 1995) and Nachtzug nach Lissabon (Hanser 2004).
On philpublica.de, links to obituaries can be found here in recognition of Peter Bieri’s achievements.
Holm Tetens has written an obituary for FU Berlin and the GAP.