Carl Lesche: A Short Biography and List of His Scientific Writings

Carl Lesche (1920–1993), psychoanalyst, metascientist, philosopher and music theorist, was one of the very first in the Nordic countries to undertake a serious study of both hermeneutics and phenomenology and introduce and develop these ideas for a larger public through his writings, lectures and participation at scientific congresses, seminars etc. His mode of thinking had been particularly inspired by Husserl and Freud, but also by Apel, Habermas and Ricoeur. He demonstrated how Freud's psychoanalysis could be viewed as firmly established within the traditions of phenomenology and hermeneutics, although Freud refused to consider himself a philosopher. Carl Lesche worked unremittingly to refine and perfect his thoughts. From his writings, it appears that psychoanalytic hermeneutics is one of the most advanced forms of hermeneutics in comparison to, for example, its theoretical applications in literature, music, law or theology.

Carl Lesche was born on March 21st 1920 in Oulu (Ulcåborg), in the north of Finland, of Protestant, Swedish-speaking parents, whose family roots originated in Germany (as were his wife's, Nelly, who died unexpectedly in 1976). There, he learnt to play the piano and completed his education at Swedish- and Finnish-language schools. His father, who died when he was 11 years old, was an engineer and technical director. In 1937, he enrolled at the University of Helsinki to read natural sciences, in particular mathematics, physics, chemistry and astronomy. He was also to