Abstract

The multivolume Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie counts as a pioneering reference work in the historiography of concepts both in philosophy and neighboring disciplines. Its beginnings lie in the late 1950s and early 1960s when ambitious assistants of the Münster philosopher Joachim Ritter launched it as a collaborative and comparatively non-hierarchical endeavor of themselves and their academic teacher. This contribution documents a 1958 memorandum (»Gutachten«) that advertises the project to a German publisher as well as minutes of an editorial meeting held in July 1959 between Joachim Ritter and his assistants. In the light of these previously unpublished documents the eminent role of Hermann Lübbe, Karlfried Gründer and Robert Spaemann in planning and starting the project is thrown into relief.