Born in Geesthacht, Ritter studied philosophy, theology, German literature and history in Heidelberg, Marburg, Freiburg and Hamburg.
In a liberal interpretation of G. W. F. Hegel's Philosophy of Right, he developed the view that "bifurcation" is the constitutive structure of the modern world and a necessary precondition for the universal realization of individual freedom.
[2] According to Ritter's theory of culture as compensation, arts and humanities have the function of balancing the disenchanted, ahistorical condition of modern society.
[3][4] Alongside Hans-Georg Gadamer, his work on Aristotle's ethics and political theory initiated the renewal of practical philosophy in Germany.
[6] Among his disciples were scholars and public intellectuals like Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, Max Imdahl, Hermann Lübbe, Odo Marquard, and Robert Spaemann.