Category Archives: Europe
ALBERT CAMUS
(1913–1960)
from The Myth of Sisyphus
from Notebooks 1935–1951
The central philosophical concern probed by Albert Camus, novelist, essayist, and playwright, was the problem of finding meaning and value in an absurd world, the basic human issue of the philosophical school known as Existentialism. Camus was born into … Continue reading
Filed under Camus, Albert, Europe, Existentialism, Selections, The Modern Era
DIETRICH BONHOEFFER
(1906–1945)
from Ethics: The Last Things and the Things Before the Last
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran theologian, was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland), the son of a famous psychiatrist. From 1923 to 1927, Bonhoeffer studied theology at the universities of Berlin and Tübingen. He also studied under Reinhold … Continue reading
Filed under Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Christianity, Europe, Selections, Sin, The Modern Era
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
SZMUL ZYGIELBOJM
(1895-1943)
Letter to the President and Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
Szmul Zygielbojm was born in a village in what is now Poland, then part of the Russian empire. At the age of 10, he left school and began working in a factory. As a young man, he became involved … Continue reading
Filed under Europe, Judaism, Selections, The Modern Era, Zygielbojm, Szmul
LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN
(1889-1951)
from Notebooks 1914-1916
from Letters
Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of the most original and influential philosophers of the 20th century, was born in Vienna, the youngest of eight children in a wealthy family headed by a stern steel tycoon who attempted to train his sons … Continue reading
Filed under Europe, Selections, Sin, The Modern Era, Wittgenstein, Ludwig
PAUL TILLICH
(1886-1965)
from The Courage to Be
Paul Tillich was a German-American theologian whose work helped to revolutionize Protestant theology in light of a philosophical analysis of existence. Born in a small Prussian town, the son of an authoritarian Lutheran minister, Tillich attended universities in Berlin, … Continue reading
Filed under Americas, Europe, Existentialism, Protestantism, Selections, The Modern Era, Tillich, Paul
VIRGINIA WOOLF
(1882-1941)
from Mrs. Dalloway
from A Room of One’s Own
Journal Entry, May 15, 1940
Letter to Leonard Woolf
Virginia Woolf, the English novelist and literary critic, profoundly influenced both the modern literary form and feminist criticism. She was born Adeline Virginia Stephen in London and educated at home by her father, Sir Leslie Stephen, a prominent philosopher … Continue reading
Filed under Europe, Selections, The Modern Era, Woolf, Virginia
CARL GUSTAV JUNG
(1875-1961)
from Letters- July 10, 1946
- July 25, 1946
- Oct. 13, 1951
- Nov. 10, 1955
Carl Gustav Jung, born Karl Gustav II Jung, is regarded as the founder of analytical psychology. He was born in Kesswil, Switzerland, the son of a poor Protestant clergyman and philologist who taught him Latin at an early age. … Continue reading
ALFRED ADLER
(1870-1937)
from Suicide
Born near Vienna to a grain merchant, Adler’s experiences with rickets and a near fatal case of pneumonia as a child made him interested in a medical career. He received his M.D. from the University of Vienna in 1895 … Continue reading
Filed under Adler, Alfred, Europe, Psychiatry, Selections, The Modern Era