Prof. Dr. Richard David Precht

Richard David Precht, born in 1964, is a philosopher, publicist, and author, and one of the most prominent intellectuals in the German-speaking world. He is an honorary professor of philosophy and aesthetics at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin.

His books, such as "Who Am I – and If So, How Many?", "Love - A Disorderly Feeling," and "The Art of Not Being an Egoist," are international bestsellers and have been translated into more than 40 languages. In 2021, he published "On Duty: A Reflection," followed by "Freedom for All: The End of Work as We Knew It" in April 2022. In these works, he demonstrates how the changing world of work is transforming our lives, our culture, our concept of education, and ultimately society as a whole – and what enormous challenges lie ahead for politics, particularly the restructuring of our social system towards an unconditional basic income. In 2023, he published "The Fourth Estate" together with Harald Welzer. His essay "The Century of Tolerance," released in May 2024, serves as a plea for a values-driven foreign policy and addresses the necessity of a new world order in times of international crises. In October 2025, his latest essay "Fear Standstill: Why Freedom of Expression is Dwindling" was published.

Since 2012, Richard David Precht has been moderating the philosophy program "Precht" on ZDF. In the ZDF podcast "Lanz & Precht," Richard David Precht and Markus Lanz discuss the socially and politically relevant issues of our time. The joint No. 1 podcast has since been streamed over 100 million times on Spotify and has been awarded the Creator Milestone Award in Bronze.