Erich Unger

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Erich Unger (1887-1950) was a Jewish philosopher of standing who published many articles and a number of books, many of them in his native tongue, German. His writings cover a wide range of topics: poetry, Nietzsche, political theory, general philosophy and Jewish philosophy.

[edit] Biography

Born in Berlin in 1887, Dr Erich Unger was interested, from an early age, in novel ideas and intellectual debate. As a young man he was one of the founder members of the literary Expressionist movement in Germany. (cf. Richard Sheppard, Die Schriften des Neuen Klubs, 1908-14, Hildesheim,1980,83). Unger's contributions to journals of the day were frequently sought after. (cf. Manfred Voigts, Vom Expressionismus zum Mythos des Hebraertums, Wurzburg: Koenigshausen und Neumann, 1994).

The first World War saw Unger in Switzerland, where he made new friends, among them Walter Benjamin who admired his work and also sought his literary collaboration (cf. G.Scholem, Walter Benjamin. Briefe. Frankfurt-am-Main, 1966). In the 1920's, Unger provided an intellectual forum for a group of young and distinguished scholars who regularly discussed their ideas on science, politics and philosophy. The group rapidly became a centre for the Berlin intelligentsia of the day. (cf. Manfred Voigts, Oskar Goldberg, Berlin 1992).

The advent of Hitler ended a promising academic career and Unger took his young family into exile in 1933, first to Paris and later (1936) to London, where he lived to the end of his life in 1950.

[edit] Works

Among Dr Unger's published works are two books in German - Gegen die Dichtung (Leipzig, 1925) and Wirklichkeit, Mythos, Erkenntnis - (Munich, 1930) and articles in English on 'Existentialism' and 'Logical Positivism' (The Nineteenth Century and After, 1947 and 1948) and 'Contemporary Anti-Platonism' (The Cambridge Journal, 1949).

'The Living and the Divine' is an essay devoted to his particular view on the evolution of life that ultimately allows man to apprehend a higher reality. This essay can also be seen as an example of the application of 'the imagination of reason', a faculty that enables us to understand the world beyond our immediate experience. (cf. E.Unger, The Imagination of Reason, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1952).

[edit] Bibliography

E.Unger, The Imagination of Reason, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1952
Richard Sheppard, Die Schriften des Neuen Klubs, 1908-14, Hildesheim,1980,83
Manfred Voigts, Vom Expressionismus zum Mythos des Hebraertums, Wurzburg: Koenigshausen und Neumann, 1994
G.Scholem, Walter Benjamin. Briefe. Frankfurt-am-Main, 1966
Manfred Voigts, Oskar Goldberg, Berlin 1992

Articles by Erich Unger, translated into English by Dr E J Ehrman:

'Modern Judaism's Need for Philosophy', Commentary, vol 23, no.5 1957
'A Restatement of Judaism', Shofar vol 21, no.2. 2003
'Universalism in Hebraism', Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, vol.4 1995
'The Natural Order of Miracles', Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, vol.11, no.2 2002

Persondata
NAME	Unger, Erich, Dr
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Unger, Eric, Dr
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Jewish German Philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH	October 25, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH	Berlin, Germany
DATE OF DEATH	November 25, 1950
PLACE OF DEATH	London, England