Dagobert David Runes (January 6, 1902 – September 24, 1982) was a
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and author.
Biography
Born in
Zastavna
Zastavna ( uk, Заставна ; ro, Zastavna) is a town in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of Ukraine. Zastavna is located to the north of the city of Chernivtsi, in the historical region of Bukovina. It hosts the administration of Zas ...
,
Bukovina
Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...
,
Austro-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
(now in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
), Runes emigrated to the United States in 1926. He had received a
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
in
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
from the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
in 1924. In the U.S. he became editor of ''The Modern Thinker'' and later ''Current Digest''. From 1931 to 1934 he was Director of the Institute for Advanced Education in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He had an encyclopedic level fluency in Latin and
Biblical Hebrew
Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of ...
; he fluently spoke and wrote in
Austrian German, German,
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
, French, Hebrew, Russian, Polish,
Czechoslovakian
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, and English. In 1941 he founded the
Philosophical Library,
a spiritual organization and publishing house. Runes was a colleague and friend to
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
.
[Einstein wrote quotes for the covers of many of his works, including one on his book ''The War Against The Jews'' front inner flap "His views are the closest to mine... the historical treatment of Jews by Christians is the most egregious example of man's inhumanity to their fellow man..."]
Runes published an English translation of Marx's ''
On the Jewish Question'' under the title ''A World without Jews''. Though this has often been considered the first translation of the work, a Soviet
anti-zionist
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the modern State of Israel, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the region of Palestine ...
, propaganda version had existed a few years earlier, which was likely unknown to Runes. As the title of Rune's book sounded
antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, it had extremely limited circulation in the English-speaking world. Runes wrote an introduction to the translation that was clearly antagonistic to extreme
Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
, and 'its materialism,' as he would later often put it, yet he did not entirely negate Marxism. He also edited several works presenting the ideas and history of philosophy to a general audience, especially his ''Dictionary of Philosophy''.
Selected works
*''
Der wahre Jesus oder das fünfte Evangelium
Der or DER may refer to:
Places
* Darkənd, Azerbaijan
* Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US
* Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq
* d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Ocean ...
'' R. Cerny, 1927.
*''
Dictionary of Philosophy
A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies ...
'' (editor)
Philosophical Library, 1942.
*
The Selected Writings of Benjamin Rush' (editor) Philosophical Library, 1947.
*''Jordan Lieder: Frühe Gedichte'' (in German) The Philosophical Library, 1948.
*''Letters to My Son'' The Philosophical Library, 1949.
*''The Hebrew Impact on Western Civilization'' The Philosophical Library, 1951.
*''Spinoza Dictionary'' The Philosophical Library, 1951.
*''Of God, the Devil and the Jews'' The Philosophical Library, 1952.
*''The Soviet Impact on Society: A Recollection'', 1953.
*''Letters to My Daughter'' The Philosophical Library, 1954.
*''Treasury of Philosophy'' (editor) The Philosophical Library, 1955.
*''Treasury of World Literature'' (editor) The Philosophical Library, 1956.
*''On the Nature of Man'' The Philosophical Library, 1956.
* Sartre, J.P., ''Being and Nothingness'' Translated by Hazel E. Barnes, The Philosophical Library, 1956.
*''Pictorial History of Philosophy'' (editor) The Philosophical Library, 1959.
*''A Dictionary of Thought'' (editor) Philosophical Library, 1959.
*''A World without Jews'' (translator) The Philosophical Library, 1959.
*''The Art of Thinking'' The Philosophical Library, 1961.
*''A Treasury of World Science'' (editor) The Philosophical Library, 1962.
*''Despotism: A Pictorial History of Tyranny'' (author) The Philosophical Library, 1963 Library of Congress Card catalog #62-22269
*''The Disinterested and the Law'' The Philosophical Library, 1964.
*''Philosophy for Everyman: From Socrates to Sartre'', Philosophical Library, Library of Congress Card #68-22351, ©1968.
References
Sources
*Ulrich E Bach. “Dagobert D. Runes: Ein streitbarer Verleger in New York.
In: ''Deutschsprachige Exilliteratur seit 1933 3/I USA Supplement''. Ed. John M. Spalek, Konrad Feilchenfeldt and Sandra H. Hawrylchak. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2010: 278-295.
*''Pictorial History of Philosophy'' by Dagobert D. Runes, 1959.
*Karl Marx: Selected essays.” 1926
External links
*
''Dictionary of Philosophy''Correspondence with Einstein
{{DEFAULTSORT:Runes, Dagobert David
1902 births
1982 deaths
People from Chernivtsi Oblast
20th-century American philosophers
Yiddish-speaking people
Jewish American writers
Jewish socialists
Ukrainian Jews
American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent