Michael Theunissen

[2] Theunissen must be mentioned in the same breath as Jürgen Habermas, Hermann Lübbe, Robert Spaemann, Ernst Tugendhat, Dieter Henrich and Odo Marquard.

[4] In 1995, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Copenhagen in recognition of his contributions to Kierkegaard studies.

“His numerous, perceptive and erudite writings on modern and ancient philosophy have made Michael Theunissen one of the most prominent philosophers of the present day among experts," said Joachim Ringleben, systematist at the Faculty of Theology in Göttingen, who also described the scientist as an ‘academic teacher with an unusually great charisma’.

Theunissen's work on the I-Thou relationship, revelation, philosophical Christology, despair and prayer is of particular importance to theology and philosophy of religion.

His students include Emil Angehrn, Karen Gloy, Günter Figal, Ulrich Pothast, Hinrich Fink-Eitel, Georg Lohmann, Christian Iber, Uwe Justus Wenzel, Brigitte Hilmer and Stascha Rohmer.