The several schools of thought, in spite of seeing themselves as united by a common movement, often saw massive fundamental disagreements.
Hermann Cohen became the leader of the
Marburg School (centered in the
town of the same name), the other prominent representatives of which were
Paul Natorp and
Ernst Cassirer. Another important group, the
Southwest (
German)
School (also known as the
Heidelberg School or
Baden School, centered in
Heidelberg,
Baden in
Southwest Germany) included
Wilhelm Windelband,
Heinrich Rickert,
Ernst Troeltsch, and
Emil Lask. The Marburg School emphasized
epistemology and
philosophical logic, whereas the Southwest school emphasized issues of
culture and
value theory (notably the
fact–value distinction). A third group, mainly represented by
Leonard Nelson, established the
Göttingen-based
neo-Friesian School (named after
post-Kantian philosopher
Jakob Friedrich Fries) which emphasized
philosophy of science. The neo-Kantian schools tended to emphasize scientific readings of Kant, often downplaying the role of intuition in favour of concepts. However, the ethical aspects of neo-Kantian thought often drew them within the orbit of
socialism, and they had an important influence on
Austromarxism and the revisionism of
Eduard Bernstein. Lange and Cohen in particular were keen on this connection between Kantian thought and socialism. Another important aspect of the neo-Kantian movement was its attempt to promote a revised notion of
Judaism, particularly in Cohen's seminal work, one of the few works of the movement available in English translation. The neo-Kantian school was of importance in devising a division of philosophy that has had durable influence well beyond Germany. It made early use of terms such as
epistemology and upheld its prominence over
ontology. Natorp had a decisive influence on the history of
phenomenology and is often credited with leading
Edmund Husserl to adopt the vocabulary of
transcendental idealism. Emil Lask was influenced by Edmund Husserl's work, and himself exerted a remarkable influence on the young
Martin Heidegger. The debate between Cassirer and Heidegger over the interpretation of Kant (see
Cassirer–Heidegger debate) led the latter to formulate reasons for viewing Kant as a forerunner of
phenomenology; this view was disputed in important respects by
Eugen Fink. An abiding achievement of the neo-Kantians was the founding of the journal
Kant-Studien, which still survives today. By 1933 (after the rise of
Nazism), the various neo-Kantian circles in Germany had dispersed. == Further influence ==