Jussi Kotkavirta 1954-2021

Jussi Kotkavirta, former Editor of this journal, died on 24 May 2021. He had been sick for many years, but remained active until the last months of his life. Jussi became 67 years old.

Jussi was born on 6 February 1954. He grew up in Lohja, a market town near Helsinki. Political economy was his first subject as a student at Helsinki University, but from the very beginning Jussi went into many subjects, studying eagerly and effectively. His interest in philosophy slowly grew. After some postgraduate years as free researcher and writer, Jussi was enrolled to the Department of Philosophy at Jyväskylä University, a vital academic and intellectual centre in the middle of Finland. Jussi finalized his PhD in 1993, and he served the Department in different positions, lastly as Professor. His research interests were the young Hegel, critical theory and the Frankfurt school, modernism and postmodernism, ethics, but also subjects bordering on psychology, like philosophy of psychology, psychology of philosophy, theory of mind, and philosophy of personhood.

Jussi´s interest in psychoanalysis awoke early, but things changed radically when he went into personal analysis. After this, philosophy came to be viewed from a psychoanalytical perspective, while psychoanalytical themes were looked at through philosophical glasses. Jussi started psychoanalytical training at the Finnish Psychoanalytical Society, from which he graduated in 2010. Already before his graduation, Jussi had started clinical work in Jyväskylä, but gradually his activities came to be centered in Helsinki, where he also finally moved. Starting full-time practice, Jussi left his professorship. He, however, remained academically active. Jussi was adjunct professor (docent) in aesthetics and philosophy, and he supervised many PhD theses.

Jussi did exceptionally much for psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, not only as a clinician but also as a teacher, researcher, supervisor of scientific work, facilitator of research frames,