Heinz Hermann

Background

Heinz Hermann was born on October 17, 1911, in Vienna, Austria to Milan Herrmann, a bank office, and Irma Herrmann, a homemaker.

Education

Heinz attended Institute of Medical Chemistry, Vienna, Austria, from 1932 to 1936. He graduated from University of Vienna with M.D. in 1936.

Career

Heinz began a career as an experimental biologist. Certain philosophical aspects of living matter and other complex systems intrigued him during most of my life and tempted him to give his thoughts some coherent form. This was the origin of From Biology to Sociopolitics: Conceptual Continuity in Complex Systems.

His interest in the philosophical basis of biology began during his affiliation with the Johns Hopkins Medical School, 1939 - 46. At that time experimental work in molecular biology had advanced to a point where a conceptual unification of biological structure and function seemed possible, and he maintained an interest in this concept since that time. He participated throughout these years in seminars on selected topics in philosophy, conducted by Professor Ludwig Edelstain at the Institute of the History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. At that time, he also studied intensively the works of Aristotle, in particular his biological writings, and the main works of Alfred North Whitehead dealing with the 'philosophy of organism.' He published short papers at that time in connection with these studies.

The demands of his experimental work prevented him from continuing writing in this field until after his retirement from the laboratory in 1980. However, he tried to follow as closely as possible the developments in this field, resulting in other publications. After the publication of Cell Biology: An Inquiry into the Nature of the Living State in 1989, he followed an intensive reading program to prepare for From Biology to Sociopolitics, and this provided him with a unique learning experience at this stage of his life.

Achievements

• Heinz Hermann was a brilliant experimental biologist and author known for his works From Biology to Sociopolitics: Conceptual Continuity in Complex Systems, Form and Strategy in Science etc.

Works

More photos

• book

  • From Biology to Sociopolitics: Conceptual Continuity in Complex Systems

    (Heinz Herrmann envisions the inanimate world, life, and h...)

  • Cell Biology: An Inquiry into the Nature of the Living State

Connections

Heinz married Virginia H. Hermann, a music teacher and church organist, on May 31, 1947. They had a daughter Lisa.

Father:

Milan Herrmann

Mother:

Irma Herrmann

Spouse:

Virginia H. Hermann

Daughter:

Lisa Hermann

References

• Contemporary Authors New Revision: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide to Current Writers in Fiction, General Nonfiction, Poetry, Journalism, Drama, Motion Pictures, Television, and Other Fields: 178