Robert Spaemann
Robert Spaemann (born 5 May 1927) is arguably the foremost Roman Catholic philosopher in Germany today.[1]
Spaemann's focus is on Christian ethics. He is known for his work in bioethics, ecology, and human rights. Although not yet widely translated into languages other than his native German, Spaemann is internationally known and his work is highly regarded by Pope Benedict XVI.[2]
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[edit] Life
Robert Spaemann was born in Berlin in 1927, to Heinrich Spaemann and Ruth Krämer. His parents were originally radical atheists, but both entered the Catholic Church in 1930, and after his mother's early death his father was ordained a Catholic priest in 1942.[3]
Spaemann studied at the University of Münster, where, in 1962, he was awarded his Habilitation. He was Professor of Philosophy at the Universities of Stuttgart (until 1968), Heidelberg (until 1972), and Munich, where he worked until he was made Emeritus Professor in 1992. He is also Honorary Professor at Salzburg University.
[edit] Work
Spaemann's two most important works are Glück und Wohlwollen (Happiness and Benevolence, 1989) and Personen (Persons, 1996). In Happiness and Benevolence, Spaemann sets forth a thesis that happiness is derived from benevolent acting: that we are created by God as social beings to help one another find truth and meaning in an often confused and disordered world.
| “ | The paradigm of acting from benevolence is any action by which we come to the help of human life which requires this help...only when we are helped do we learn to help ourselves, that is, to enter into that indirect relationship with ourselves which is constitutive of for all rationality which is not strictly instrumental, [and instead] constitutive for all ethical practice."[4] | ” |
He participates in Pope Benedict's Schülerkreis, a private conference with Benedict convened since the late 1970s.[5]
[edit] Books Translated into English
- Basic Moral Concepts, trans. T.J. Armstrong. London: Routledge, 1990 (1982).
- Essays in Anthropology: Variations on a Theme, trans. Guido De Graaff and James Mumford. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2010 (1987).
- Happiness and Benevolence, trans. J. Alberg. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2000 (1989).
- Persons: The Difference between "Someone" and "Something", trans. Oliver O’Donovan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006 (1996).
[edit] Books in German
- Rousseau – Mensch oder Bürger. Das Dilemma der Moderne. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-608-94245-3
- Der letzte Gottesbeweis. Pattloch Verlag 2007, ISBN 978-3-629-02178-6
- Das unsterbliche Gerücht. Die Frage nach Gott und der Aberglaube der Moderne. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-608-94452-4. Neuausgabe als: Natürliche Ziele. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-608-94121-5
- Grenzen. Zur ethischen Dimension des Handelns. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-608-91027-1
- Der Ursprung der Soziologie aus dem Geist der Restauration. Studien über Louise-Gabriel de Bonald. Kösel, München 1959; 2. A. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-608-91921-X
- Töten oder sterben lassen? Worum es in der Euthanasiedebatte geht (mit Thomas Fuchs). Herder Verlag 1997
- Personen. Versuche über den Unterschied zwischen „etwas“ und „jemand“. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-608-91813-2
- Zur kirchlichen Erbsündenlehre. Stellungnahmen zu einer brennenden Frage (mit Albert Görres, Christoph Schönborn). (Sammlung Kriterien 87), Johannes Verlag Einsiedeln Freiburg 1994, ISBN 3-89411-303-0
- Reflexion und Spontanität. Studien über Fénelon. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1963; 2. A. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-608-91334-3
- Glück und Wohlwollen. Versuch über Ethik. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-608-91556-7
- Das Natürliche und Vernünftige. Aufsätze zur Anthropologie. Piper Verlag (Serie Piper 702), München 1987, 3-492-10702-8
- Philosophische Essays. Reclam (UB 7961), Stuttgart 1983; 2. erw. A. ebd. 1994, ISBN 3-15-007961-6
- Moralische Grundbegriffe. Beck Verlag (Beck’sche Reihe 256), München 1982, ISBN 3-406-45442-9
- Rousseau – Bürger ohne Vaterland. Von der Polis zur Natur. Piper Verlag, München 1980, ISBN 3-492-10579-3
- Einsprüche. Christliche Reden. Johannes Verlag Einsiedeln Freiburg 1977, ISBN 3-265-10195-9
- Die Frage Wozu? Geschichte und Wiederentdeckung des teleologischen Denkens (mit Reinhard Löw). Piper (Serie Piper 748), München 1981
- Zur Kritik der politischen Utopie. Zehn Kapitel politischer Philosophie. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1977, ISBN 3-12-910110-1
[edit] References
- ^ Josef Seifert's Introduction of Spaemann at the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project Conference, "Christian Personalism and Hildebrand's Philosophy of Love," May 28, 2010 (Video link).
- ^ http://web.tuomi-media.de/dno2/Dateien/NO510.pdf
- ^ Catholic Information Portal (in German)
- ^ Spaemann, Robert Happiness and Benevolence, Notre Dame: Univ of Notre Dame Press, 2000, pp 104-105.
- ^ Story in The Guardian
[edit] External Links
- Holger Zaborowski's Robert Spaemann's Philosophy of the Human Person: Nature, Freedom, and the Critique of Modernity, from Oxford University Press (2010).
- Spaemann speaks on "Paradoxes of Love" at the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project's Conference in Rome, May 28, 2010
- Christoph Zimmer: Spaemanns Homilie und ihr letzter Gottesbeweis. 2011
