Background
Bloch, Ernst was born in 1885 in Ludwigshofen, Germany.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
book
The Principle of Hope, Vol. 1 (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought)
(The Principle of Hope is one of the great works of the hu...)
The Principle of Hope is one of the great works of the human spirit. It is a critical history of the utopian vision and a profound exploration of the possible reality of utopia. Even as the world has rejected the doctrine on which Bloch sought to base his utopia, his work still challenges us to think more insightfully about our own visions of a better world. The Principle of Hope is published in three volumes: Volume 1 lays the foundations of the philosophy of process and introduces the idea of the Not-Yet-Conscious -- the anticipatory element that Bloch sees as central to human thought. It also contains a remarkable account of the aesthetic interpretations of utopian "wishful images" in fairy tales, popular fiction, travel, theater, dance, and the cinema. Volume 2 presents "the outlines of a better world." It examines the utopian systems that progressive thinkers have developed in the fields of medicine, painting, opera, poetry, and ultimately, philosophy. It is nothing less than an encyclopedic account of utopian thought from the Greeks to the present. Volume 3 offers a prescription for ways in which humans can reach their proper "homeland," where social justice is coupled with an openness to change and to the future.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262521997/?tag=2022091-20
The Principle of Hope, Vol. 2 (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262522004/?tag=2022091-20
The Principle of Hope, Vol. 3 (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262522012/?tag=2022091-20
The Heritage of Our Times
(Heritage of Our Times is a brilliant examination of moder...)
Heritage of Our Times is a brilliant examination of modern culture and its legacy by one of the most important and deeply influential thinkers of the 20th century. Bloch argues that the key elements of a genuine cultural tradition are not just to be found in the conveniently closed and neatly labeled ages of the past, but also in the open and experimental cultural process of our time. One of the most compelling aspects of this work is a contemporary analysis of the rise of Nazism. It probes its bogus roots in German history and mythology at the very moment when the ideologies of Blood and Soil and the Blond Beast were actually taking hold of the German people. The breadth and depth of Bloch's vision, together with the rich diversity of his interest, ensure this work a place as one of the key books of the 20th century.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0745647111/?tag=2022091-20
Atheism in Christianity: The Religion of the Exodus and the Kingdom
(In the twenty-first century, religion has come under dete...)
In the twenty-first century, religion has come under determined attack from secular progressives in documentaries, opinion pieces and international bestsellers. Combative atheists have denounced faiths of every stripe, resulting in a crude intellectual polarization in which religious convictions and heritage must be rejected or accepted wholesale. In the long unavailable Atheism in Christianity, Ernst Bloch provides a way out from this either/or debate. He examines the origins of Christianity in an attempt to find its social roots, pursuing a detailed study of the Bible and its fascination for ‘ordinary and unimportant’ people. In the biblical promise of utopia and the scriptures’ antagonism to authority, Bloch locates Christianity’s appeal to the oppressed. Through a lyrical yet close and nuanced analysis, he explores the tensions within the Bible that promote atheism as a counter to the authoritarian metaphysical theism imposed by clerical exegesis. At the Bible’s heart he finds a heretical core and the concealed message that, paradoxically, a good Christian must necessarily be a good atheist.This new edition includes an introduction by Peter Thompson, the Director of the Centre for Enrst Bloch Studies at the University of Sheffield.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1844673944/?tag=2022091-20
Ernst Bloch
Edit ProfileEducation
He studied physics, philology, and philosophy before beginning a teaching career at the University of Leipzig in 1918.
Career
He became a refugee in 1933, fleeing to Switzerland before emigrating to the United States in 1938, where two volumes of his three-volume "Das Prinzip Hoffnung" (“The Hope Principle,” 1954-1959) were completed.
After World War II, he was welcomed back to the University of Leipzig to teach philosophy and was awarded East Germany’s Nationalpreis in 1955.
Consequently, he defected to West Germany during a visit in 1960 and became a visiting professor at the University of Tübingen.
Works
book
-
The Heritage of Our Times
(Heritage of Our Times is a brilliant examination of moder...)
-
Atheism in Christianity: The Religion of the Exodus and the Kingdom
(In the twenty-first century, religion has come under dete...)
-
The Principle of Hope, Vol. 1 (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought)
(The Principle of Hope is one of the great works of the hu...)
- The Principle of Hope, Vol. 2 (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought)
- The Principle of Hope, Vol. 3 (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought)
-
The Heritage of Our Times
Politics
His criticism of Marxism as providing a partial view of reality led to concerted antagonism from the Communist party, which suppressed the philosophical journal he edited, "Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie", prohibited him from publishing, and publicly condemned him as a revisionist in 1957.
Views
Bloch’s creative principle of hope was rooted in the idea that being is ultimately becoming, that true reality is yet to unfold, and that the future of humankind must be our primary concern. His social philosophy of “humanity in action” demanded a commitment to changing our lives and our world toward the ideal of perfect freedom. Although he was highly critical of Theodor Herzl’s Zionism and any attempt to define Judaism in territorial terms, he outspokenly advocated Israel’s right to exist at a symposium held at Frankfurt University in 1967.
References
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Born
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Died
August 4, 1977 (aged 92) -
Nationality
German -
Ethnicity