Category Archives: Martyrdom
JAPANESE NAVAL SPECIAL ATTACK FORCE (KAMIKAZE CORPS)
(b. 1920s, d. 1944-1945)
Kamikaze Diaries
Last Letters Home
In October 1944, toward the end of World War II, as it was becoming clear to the Japanese command that American aircraft carriers massing at the mouth of Leyte Gulf represented a serious threat, the new commander of Japanese … Continue reading
PAUL-LOUIS LANDSBERG
(1901-1944)
from The Moral Problem of Suicide
Paul-Louis (also known as Paul-Ludwig) Landsberg was born in Bonn, Germany, in 1901 to a prominent family. Landsberg became a professor of philosophy at the University of Bonn in 1928. He wrote several works on anthropology and German philosophy, … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Europe, Landsberg, Paul-Louis, Martyrdom, Selections, Sin, Stoicism, The Modern Era
JOHN HAYNES HOLMES
(1879-1964)
from Is Suicide Justifiable?
John Haynes Holmes, an American clergyman and author, was one of the leaders of the Social Gospel movement in Protestantism. Holmes was born in Philadelphia to a family of meager circumstances; he planned to enter the family music publication … Continue reading
Filed under Americas, Holmes, John Haynes, Martyrdom, Selections, The Modern Era
THOMAS DE QUINCEY
(1785-1859)
from Essays in Philosophy: On Suicide
The English essayist and critic, Thomas De Quincey, was one of the foremost figures in English Romanticism. De Quincey was born in Manchester of a mercantile family; at 17, he ran away from school and wandered through Wales and … Continue reading
Filed under De Quincey, Thomas, Europe, Martyrdom, Selections, The Early Modern Period
ANNE LOUISE GERMAINE DE STAËL-HOLSTEIN
(1766-1817)
from On the Influence of the Passions
from Reflections on Suicide
Anne Louise Germaine née Necker, Baroness of Staël-Holstein, widely known as Madame de Staël, was an important Swiss-French writer known for her work in literary criticism and for her novels. She was the daughter of a politician, Jacques Necker; … Continue reading
WILLIAM GODWIN
(1756-1836)
from Enquiry Concerning Political Justice
from Memoirs of the Author of ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Woman’
William Godwin, as both novelist and as radical political philosopher, advocated the abolition of legal and social restrictions imposed by government or controlling members of society. Born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, he served as a minister of a dissenting religious … Continue reading
Filed under Europe, Godwin, William, Love, Martyrdom, Selections, The Early Modern Period
IMMANUEL KANT
(1724-1804)
from Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals
from The Metaphysical Principles of Virtue: Man’s Duty to Himself Insofar as He Is an Animal Being
from Lectures on Ethics: Duties Towards the Body in Regard to Life
Immanuel Kant was born in Königsberg, East Prussia (today Kaliningrad, Russia), to a devoutly religious Lutheran Pietist family. At the age of 16, he entered the University of Königsberg, initially to study theology, and later to read natural science … Continue reading
ROBERT BURTON
(1577-1640)
from Anatomy of Melancholy
Born in Lindley, Leicestershire, Robert Burton was an English clergyman and author. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where he received bachelor of arts, master of arts, and bachelor of divinity degrees. Working as a tutor and librarian, … Continue reading
JOHN DONNE
(1572–1631)
from Biathanatos
John Donne, the English metaphysical poet and, after 1621, Dean of St. Paul’s, was a writer of sonnets, songs, elegies, satires, and sermons. It is for his poetic works, many with religious themes, that he is principally known today. … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Donne, John, Europe, Martyrdom, Selections, The Early Modern Period
FRANCISCO DE VITORIA
(1483/92-1546)
from Lecture on Homicide
Commentary on [Thomas Aquinas] Summa Theologiae 2A 2AE, Q64, A.5
Francisco de Vitoria, a Dominican theologian and writer on a wide range of topics, was one of the most influential thinkers in 16th-century Catholic Europe. Born to a Basque family in Burgos, he became a member of the Dominican … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Europe, Martyrdom, Middle Ages, Selections, Sin, Vitoria, Francisco de