Father Reiner Schürmann, O.P., Ph.D. (February 4, 1941 – August 20, 1993) was a German Dominican priest and philosopher. From 1975 to his death, he was Professor in the department of philosophy of the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
. He wrote all his major published work in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
.
Biography
Born in Amsterdam in 1941 of German parents, Reiner Schürmann studied philosophy and
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
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 '' ...
in Philosophy from the
University of Sorbonne
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
in Paris in 1981.
It was as a Dominican
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
that he first came to the United States in 1971, teaching first at
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U. ...
in Washington, D.C., then at
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pitts ...
in Pittsburgh. In 1975, he left the priesthood and began teaching philosophy at the New School for Social Research as a protégé of
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt (, , ; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a political philosopher, author, and Holocaust survivor. She is widely considered to be one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century.
Arendt was bor ...
and
Hans Jonas
Hans Jonas (; ; 10 May 1903 – 5 February 1993) was a German-born American Jewish philosopher, from 1955 to 1976 the Alvin Johnson Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York City.
Biography
Jonas was bor ...
.
Reiner Schürmann died of complications caused by AIDS on August 20, 1993, in New York City.
Work
One of Schürmann's best-known works is ''Heidegger on Being and Acting: From Principles to Anarchy'' (1990 reprint ). In this work, Schürmann reflects on the difference between the findings of Heidegger the thinker and the beliefs of Heidegger the man, and incidentally shows Heidegger's intellectual honesty in following these thoughts in spite of his personal upbringing and beliefs.
In his only literary work, ''Les Origines'', which was awarded the Prix Broquette-Gonin by the
Académie Française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
in 1977, he provides an autobiographical account of a pilgrimage of errancy, a search for redemption from the inauthentic
thrownness
Thrownness () is a concept introduced by German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) to describe humans' individual existences as being 'thrown' (''geworfen'') into the world.
Overview
''Geworfen'' denotes the arbitrary character of ''Dasei ...
of a past filled with memories of guilt and despair, of being born German during World War II, "too late to see the war, too early to forget it."
In 1996, the French philosopher Gérard Granel published posthumously the French original of Schürmann's monumental work ''Broken Hegemonies'' ("Des Hégémonies brisées", Mauvezin, T.E.R., 1996).
Published works
*''Maître Eckhart et la joie errante'' ("Master Eckhart and the Wandering Joy", 1972; translated into English as ''
Mario Kopić
Mario Kopić (born 13 March 1965) is a philosopher, author and translator. His main areas of interest include: the history of ideas, the philosophy of art, the philosophy of culture, phenomenology and the philosophy of religion.
Kopić is infl ...