Dieter Leisegang

In August 1972 he returned to Germany due to the death of his father. He held the seminar "Philosophical Aspects of Literature, Karl May: Ardistan and Dschinnistan" in the winter semester of 1972/73, which, in a certain sense, came to be his legacy. Despite his successes, Leisegang committed suicide in the early hours of March 21, 1973. Shortly before this, he had written a letter informing the police of his impending suicide.

Leisegang put his teaching position in Frankfurt on hold in 1972 to take up a position as guest lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (South Africa). Here, alongside a relational theory drafted in English, he began plans for a philosophic political paper on "Apartheid and Integration as Moments of a True Political Relationship between Black and White in South Africa" (Letter to Julius Schaaf on July 20, 1972). Unfortunately, his posit that one-sided political relationships would inevitably lead to foreseeable social and economic catastrophe, which drew from examples from South Africa, never came to fruition in the form of a paper, as his manuscript went missing during a move. However, it was discussed during his lectures. While still in South Africa, Leisegang explicitly withdrew his application for a chair position at J.W. Goethe University and left his lecturer position there to rest (Letter to J. Schaaf, July 20, 1972).

In 1969 he finished his doctorate in philosophy (Julius Schaaf/Theodore W. Adorno), German (Paul Stöcklein), and East European History (Klaus Zernack) with a dissertation on "The Three Powers of Relation". Leisegang was then given a position at Frankfurt University as a lecturer for the History of Philosophy, with particular emphasis on the philosophy of art theory (1971–1973), which he used to work on a philosophical analysis of the works of both Franz Kafka and Karl May. During this time, Leisegang began intensively examining fundamental questions underlying graphic design. This culminated in his Prolegomena on a Theory of Design, which Leisegang published in the newspaper design international in 1971 (whose editors were Leisegang himself, Anton Stankowski, and Horst Heiderhoff). In addition to this, he also toyed with prime numbers.

In 1963 Leisegang met typographer and publisher Horst Heiderhoff, together with whom he released the poetry series "Das Neuste Gedicht" ("The Newest Poem"). In the same year, however, he was forced to take a break from his studies at the university due to a serious lung condition. After an operation, he was able to return to his studies in 1967. Already during his years at university Leisegang worked a variety of different jobs: as a teaching assistant for an aesthetics course at the Werkkunstschule (College of Design Offenbach) (1968–1960); as a lecturer for text and rhetoric at the Technical College for Industrial Advertising and Sales Promotion in Kassel (1968–1971); and as a freelancer in the editorial department “Art and Literature” for the Hessischer Rundfunk (Hessisch Broadcasting).

Dieter Leisegang (November 25, 1942, in Wiesbaden – March 21, 1973, in Offenbach am Main) was a German author, philosopher, and broadcaster.

Dieter Leisegang was born on November 25, 1942, the eleventh child to painter and cartographer Gustav Leisegang. He spent his childhood in the city of Wiesbaden until his family relocated to Offenbach am Main in 1959. His first literary works and poems appeared in the 1950s and were published in newspapers, magazines, and anthologies.