The Philo-Practice Agora

MARTIN FOSS Death as a sacrifice for a higher life Martin Foss (1889-1968) was a German-born philosopher who is now often neglected. He was born in Berlin, and studied philosophy and law in Europe. Being Jewish, he left Germany after the rise of Hitler to power, and for four years traveled secretly between Paris and Berlin, working against the Nazis. He then moved with his family to the USA, with the help of the Quaker community, and taught philosophy at Harvard...

MARTIN BUBER (1878-1965) THEMES ON THIS PAGE: 1. I-IT AND I-YOU2. THE SPHERE OF THE “BETWEEN”3. INCLUSION AND DIALOGUE4. WITH ANIMALS AND PLANTS5. WITH IDEAS4. WITH GOD Martin Buber (1878-1965) was a Jewish Austrian-born Israeli philosopher, writer, and an activist of cultural Zionism. He was born in Austria, became a professor in Frankfurt, but after the rise of Nazism left for Israel (then Palestine, under British mandate). He wrote on Hassidism and mysticism, but is best known for his dialogical philosophy,...

Jean-Paul Sartre My true self is my freedom to define myself Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) was an important French existentialist philosopher, politica...

JULIÁN MARÍAS (1914-2005)  THEMES ON THIS PAGE:  1. PHILOSOPHIZING INCLUDES ITS HISTORY 2. THE EXPERIENCE OF LIFE 3. TRUTH 4. AUTHENTICITY Julián Marías (1914-2005) was a Spanish philosopher, a student of Ortega y Gasset, and a major thinker of the so-called Madrid School. The Spanish Civil War interrupted his philosophy studies at Complutence University of Madrid, and after the war his PhD thesis was rejected because of his criticism of the dictator Franco. He was imprisoned for several months, and was released thanks to...

Susanne Langer (1895-1985)  THEMES ON THIS PAGE:  1. THE NEED TO SYMBOLIZE2. ART SHAPES FEELINGS  3. ART AS AN ILLUSION Susanne Langer (1895-1985) was an American Philosopher, one of the first female academic philosophers in the USA, popular in the past but nowadays often neglected or forgotten. She was born in New York to German-born parents and grew up speaking German. She first attended Radcliffe (a women’s college which was parallel to Harvard all-male college), where she studied under the British...

Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)  THEMES ON THIS PAGE:  1. REVERENCE FOR LIFE 2. THE WILL TO LIVE  3.THE SOCIAL MISSION OF PHILOSOPHY Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) was a French-German thinker, theologian, musician, and medical doctor, who became famous for his humanitarian activities in West Africa. He was born in Alsace, which at that time belonged to Germany (but returned to France after World War I). He wrote his PhD thesis at the Sorbonne University, Paris, on the religious philosophy of Kant. At the same...

José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) THEMES ON THIS PAGE:  1. MY LIFE 2. WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?  3. THE INNER SELF 4. ROMANTIC LOVE5. THE OTHER PERSON José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) was a Spanish philosopher whose works influenced greatly 20th century Spanish thought. His philosophy, which unites existentialist, phenomenological, and pragmatist themes, attempts to relate to life as it is lived, instead of remote abstract ideas. Ortega was born in Madrid to an educated, liberal family that was actively involved in the...

Friedrich Schlegel (1772-1829) THEMES ON THIS PAGE:  1. ON PHILOSOPHIZING – FRAGMENTS AND SYMPHILOSOPHY 2. PHILOSOPHY AND THE UNITY OF LIFE 3. POETIC ENERGY  Friedrich Schlegel (1772-1829) – whose full name was Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel – was a leading philosopher of German Romanticism, as well as a poet and a scholar. Together with his brother August Schlegel he was at the center of early German Romanticism. Romanticism was an 18th-19th century movement that appeared in Germany, Britain, France, and other countries. Its...

Paul Tillich (1886-1965) THEMES ON THIS PAGE:  1. THE COURAGE TO BE 2. SYMBOLS AND THE BEYOND  3. FAITH Paul Tillich (1886-1965) was an important German-American philosopher, Christian existentialist, and Lutheran theologian. He grew up in Germany, became a Lutheran minister, and taught theology at the Universities of Berlin, Marburg, Leipzig and Frankfurt. In 1933 he was dismissed from university by the Nazi party, and he moved to New York at the age of 47. He taught at several academic universities, among...

Thomas Reid (1710-1796) THEMES ON THIS PAGE:  1. COMMON SENSE 2. HUMAN POWERS 3. GRANDEUR Thomas Reid (1710-1796) was a Scottish philosopher and the father of modern “common-sense philosophy.” Like his father, he first became a minister of the Church of Scotland. Later, thanks to a philosophy essay which he wrote, he was invited to teach philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. During the rest of his long life he published three books, which dealt with epistemology, the human mind, willing and acting,...

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) THEMES ON THIS PAGE: 1. SOLITUDE2. ON HUMAN INCONSISTENCY3. FRIENDSHIP4. LIFE´S PLEASURE 5. DEATH  Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was an influential French philosopher of the Renaissance. He was born to a wealthy family in southwest France, where his father, Lord of Montaigne, gave him a rich educational program at home. As a child he was brought up speaking Latin, which became his first language. He studied law at the University of Toulouse, and then served in various important...

MARCUS AURELIUS (121-180) THEMES ON THIS PAGE: 1. HARMONY WITH NATURE2. INNER PEACE3. SELF-REFLECTION4. TIME AND CHANGE5. THE REAL SELF Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) was a Philosopher and a Roman emperor from the Stoic school of philosophy. As a Stoic, he emphasized the importance of maintaining inner peace, accepting fate calmly, moral and rational behavior, freedom from the power of emotions, and being in harmony with the cosmos.Marcus was born in Rome to a rich aristocratic family, and was educated at...

    Jean Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile The true self as the natural self Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was born in Geneva and developed many of his philosophical views in Paris. His philosophy had a profound influence on modern political and social thought, and on education. His conception of the self and authenticity made an impact on our contemporary way of thinking. In his writings he argues that social institutions and social norms distort our natural self. They cause people to...

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius, Meditations The true self as the rational self Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) was a Philosopher and a Roman emperor from the Stoic school of philosophy. As a Stoic, he emphasized the importance of maintaining inner peace, accepting fate calmly, freedom from the power of emotions, and being in harmony with the cosmos. To do this, the Stoics believed, one has to be true to one’s rational faculty (as opposed to emotional forces) – also called one’s “guiding principle,...