Rainer Forst awarded the Goethe Plakette of the City of Frankfurt am Main

On September 4, 2025, the political philosopher and Director of the Research Centre Normative Orders Prof. Dr. Rainer Forst was awarded the Goethe Plakette of the City of Frankfurt am Main. With this award, the city honors personalities who have set standards far beyond Frankfurt’s borders through their academic work and/or their public impact.

In his speech, Lord Mayor Mike Josef emphasized that Forst had made an invaluable contribution to the intellectual and cultural life of the city with his commitment to democratic discourse and a culture of respect. He was not a philosopher who speculated in an ivory tower, but rather combined his research with practice and the realities of life. “Rainer Forst has achieved a great deal for Frankfurt as a center of science. He has shaped academic discussions far beyond Frankfurt’s borders. I am proud to be able to honor him for this today on behalf of the City of Frankfurt,” said the Lord Mayor.

In his subsequent laudatory speech, Prof. Dr. Stefan Gosepath (Institute of Philosophy at Freie Universität Berlin) paid tribute to award winner Forst and emphasized his work in the field of science, institution building – especially at Goethe University – and his impact on civil society. In particular, he emphasized Forst’s theory of the right to justification and its international recognition, as well as his role as a public intellectual who participates in social debates and is heard.

In his final acceptance speech, Rainer Forst emphasized how much Frankfurt had influenced him. Above all Jürgen Habermas and the Frankfurt School, who had taught him to think philosophy and critical social science together and later the opportunity to work on interdisciplinary social issues at Goethe University. He emphasized that there is a special critical spirit in Frankfurt that is never satisfied with existing conditions.

With the Goethe Plaque, which has been awarded to outstanding personalities from the fields of art, science and culture since 1947, Rainer Forst joins a series of important prizewinners who have shaped Frankfurt’s reputation as a cosmopolitan and intellectually vibrant city.