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Ágnes Heller was born in Budapest, Hungary.
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Heller first studied physics and chemistry at the University of Budapest, but was quickly turned onto philosophy when she listened to György Lukács’ lecture on philosophy and culture. This lecture answered her questions she had about the world after the holocaust and would start her deep dive into the world of philosophy and political theory. (Forrás)
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Heller joined the communist party while at a Zionist camp, but was later kicked out because she felt they were not allowing the members to think and speak freely. (Forrás)
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Heller was not able to start her doctoral work until 1953 when the PM was put in power. Under the supervision of Lukács, she finished her doctorate and then started teaching as a professor at the University of Budapest in 1955. (Forrás)
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Some have argued this is the most important event for her career. Looking at how socialism affected her education, she and is again kicked out of the Communist Party. Heller comes out of the revolution with others believing that Marxism has to be applied to different nations in different ways. (Forrás)
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After the Hungarian Revolution, Heller, Ferenc Fehér, György Márkus join Lukács to create the Budapest School. This school became a platform to promote Marxism until the Prague Spring. After the Prague Spring, the school believed that Eastern European leadership was entirely corrupted. (Forrás)
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After denouncing Marxism and the death of Lukács in 1971, Heller and her husband head to Australia. Many core members of the Budapest School also travel to Australia after being persecuted and losing their jobs at the university. (Forrás)
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Heller and Fehér went to La Trobe University and started Thesis Eleven, a peer-reviewed journal. (Forrás)
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Heller left Australia in 1986 to become a professor at The New School in New York City, where she was the Hannah Arendt Professor of Philosophy in the Graduate Studies Program. (Forrás)
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The Wallenberg Medal is awarded to outstanding humanitarians whose actions on behalf of the defenseless and oppressed. (Wallenberg Medal) "Professor Heller has demonstrated that courage is the highest expression of civic spirit. She has been witness to regimes that have organized murder, crushed dissent and persecuted independent voices." (2014, Agnes Heller) This video is the lecture given by Heller at the Wallenberg Lecture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YheyzFI_K1s
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The Goethe Medal is a prize given by the Goethe-Institut honoring non-Germans who have performed outstanding service for the German language and for international cultural relations. (Goethe Medal)
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Heller passed away swimming in Lake Balaton, Balatonalmádi, Hungary.
