Western Philosophy 19th-century philosophy
Max Stirner, as portrayed by Friedrich Engels
Name In the 18th century the philosophies of The Enlightenment would begin to have dramatic effect, and the landmark works of philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Jean-Jacques Rousseau would have an electrifying effect on a new generation of thinkers. ... Portrait of Max Stirner by Friedrich Engels taken from a 1900 essay on Stirner. ... Friedrich Engels (November 28, 1820 – August 5, 1895) was a German social scientist and philosopher, who developed communist theory alongside his better-known collaborator, Karl Marx, co-authoring The Communist Manifesto (1848). ...	Johann Kaspar Schmidt
Birth	October 25, 1806 (Bayreuth, Bavaria) is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Bayreuth [pronounced by-royt] is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Frankish Alb and the Fichtelgebirge. ... For other uses, see Bavaria (disambiguation). ...
Death	June 26, 1856 (Berlin, Prussia) is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ...
School/tradition	Categorised historically as a Young Hegelian. Precursor to Existentialism, individualist feminism, Nihilism, Post-Modernism, Post-structuralism. The Young Hegelians, later known as the Left Hegelians, were a group of students and young professors at the University of Berlin following Georg Hegels death in 1831. ... Existentialism is a philosophical movement which claims that individual human beings create the meanings of their own lives. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is about the philosophical position. ... Postmodernism (sometimes abbreviated pomo) is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...
Main interests	Ethics, Politics, Property, Value theory For other uses, see Ethics (disambiguation). ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
Notable ideas	Egoism Egoism may refer to any of the following: psychological egoism - the doctrine that holds that individuals are always motivated by self-interest ethical egoism - the ethical doctrine that holds that individuals ought to do what is in their self-interest rational egoism - the belief that it is rational to act...
Influences	Hegel,[1] Adam Smith Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (August 27, 1770 - November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, in present-day southwest Germany. ... For other persons named Adam Smith, see Adam Smith (disambiguation). ...
Influenced	Frank Brand, Steven T. Byington, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx, Saul Newman, Benjamin R. Tucker Enrico Arrigoni (pseudonym: Frank Brand) was an Italian individualist anarchist influenced by the work of Max Stirner. ... Steven T. Byington was a noted intellectual and individualist anarchist. ... Friedrich Engels (November 28, 1820 – August 5, 1895) was a German social scientist and philosopher, who developed communist theory alongside his better-known collaborator, Karl Marx, co-authoring The Communist Manifesto (1848). ... Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a 19th century philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary. ... Saul Newman (born 1972) is a political theorist and central post-anarchist thinker, currently honorary research fellow at the University of Western Australia (not to be confused with the Saul Newman who works at American University in Washington, D.C.). He received his B.A. from the University of Sydney... Benjamin Ricketson Tucker Benjamin Ricketson Tucker (April 17, 1854 – June 22, 1939) was the leading proponent of American individualist anarchism in the 19th century. ...

Johann Kaspar Schmidt (October 25, 1806 – June 26, 1856), better known as Max Stirner (the nom de plume he adopted from a schoolyard nickname he had acquired as a child because of his high brow Stirn), was a German philosopher, who ranks as one of the literary grandfathers of nihilism, existentialism, post-modernism and anarchism, especially of individualist anarchism. Stirner's main work is The Ego and Its Own, also known as The Ego and His Own (Der Einzige und sein Eigentum in German, which translates literally as The Individual and his Property). This work was first published in 1844 in Leipzig, and has since appeared in numerous editions and translations. is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... A pen name or nom de plume is a pseudonym adopted by an author. ... A philosopher is a person who thinks deeply regarding people, society, the world, and/or the universe. ... This article is about the philosophical position. ... Existentialism is a philosophical movement which claims that individual human beings create the meanings of their own lives. ... Postmodernism (sometimes abbreviated pomo) is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ... Anarchist redirects here. ... Theory and practice Issues History Culture By region Lists Related Anarchism Portal Politics Portal ·        Individualist anarchism (also anarchist individualism, anarcho-individualism, individualistic anarchism) refers to any of several traditions that hold that individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective body or public... The Ego and Its Own (German: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum; also translated as The Individual and His Property; a literal translation would read The Sole One and His Property) is the main work by German philosopher Max Stirner, published in 1844. ... Leipzig ( ; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk from the Sorbian word for Tilia) is, with a population of over 506,000, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. ...

Biography

Max Stirner's birthplace in Bayreuth

Stirner was born in Bayreuth, Bavaria, on October 25, 1806. What little is known of his life is mostly due to the Scottish born German writer John Henry Mackay, who wrote a biography of Stirner (Max Stirner - sein Leben und sein Werk), published in German in 1898. An English translation was published in 2005. Image File history File links MaxStirnersbirthplace. ... Image File history File links MaxStirnersbirthplace. ... Bayreuth [pronounced by-royt] is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Frankish Alb and the Fichtelgebirge. ... For other uses, see Bavaria (disambiguation). ... is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the country. ... John Henry Mackay (Greenock, Scotland, 1864 - Stahnsdorf 1933). ...

Stirner was an only child to Albert Christian Heinrich Schmidt (1769-1807), a flute maker, and Sophia Elenora Reinlein (1778-1839) a Lutheran. Just six months after he was born his father died of Tuberculosis on the 19th of April 1807 at the age of 37.^[2] In 1809 his mother remarried to Heinrich Ballerstedt a Pharmacist and settled in Kulm (now Chełmno in Poland). An only child is a child with no siblings, either biological or adopted. ... â™  This article is about the family of musical instruments. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or TuBerculosis) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria, mainly Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... The mortar and pestle is an international symbol of pharmacists and pharmacies. ... CheÅ‚mno (older English: ; German: ) is a town in northern Poland with 22,000 inhabitants (1995) and the historical capital of CheÅ‚mno Land (Culmerland). ...

When Stirner turned 20, he attended the University of Berlin,^[3] where he studied Philology, Philosophy and Theology. He attended the lectures of Hegel, who was to become a source of inspiration for his thinking.^[4] (Hegel's influence on Stirner's thinking is debatable, and is discussed in more detail below.) There is no institution called the University of Berlin, but there are four universities in Berlin, Germany: Humboldt University of Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Technical University of Berlin (Technische Universität Berlin) Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin) Berlin University of the Arts (Universität der... Philology, etymologically, is the love of words. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... Theology finds its scholars pursuing the understanding of and providing reasoned discourse of religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ... Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (IPA: ) (August 27, 1770 – November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher and, with Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, one of the representatives of German idealism. ...

While in Berlin in 1841, Stirner participated in discussions with a group of young philosophers called "The Free" (Die Freien), and whom historians have subsequently categorized as the so-called Young Hegelians. Some of the best known names in 19th century literature and philosophy were members of this discussion group, including Bruno Bauer, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Ludwig Feuerbach, and Arnold Ruge. For a lively account of Die Freien see "Red Room and White Beer" by Robert Hellman. A 19th century circle of political philosophers in Germany, gathering for informal discussion over a period of a few years. ... The Young Hegelians, later known as the Left Hegelians, were a group of students and young professors at the University of Berlin following Georg Hegels death in 1831. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Old book bindings at the Merton College library. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... Bruno Bauer (September 6, 1809 - April 13, 1882), was a German theologian, philosopher and historian. ... Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a 19th century philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary. ... Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels (November 28, 1820 - August 5, 1895) was a German Socialist philosopher and the co-founder of modern Communist theory with Karl Marx. ... Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach (July 28, 1804 - September 13, 1872), German philosopher, fourth son of the eminent jurist Paul Johann Anselm Ritter von Feuerbach, was born in Landshut, Bavaria and died in Rechenberg (since 1899 a district of Nuremberg). ... Arnold Ruge (13 September 1802 _ 31 December 1880) was a German philosopher and political writer. ... A 19th century circle of political philosophers in Germany, gathering for informal discussion over a period of a few years. ...

While some of the Young Hegelians were eager subscribers to Hegel's dialectical method, and attempted to apply dialectical approaches to Hegel's conclusions, the left wing members of the Young Hegelians broke with Hegel. Feuerbach and Bauer led this charge. Broadly speaking, a dialectic (Greek: διαλεκτική) is an exchange of propositions (theses) and counter-propositions (antitheses) resulting in a disagreement. ... In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms that refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially but not exclusively in the American sense of the word...

Frequently the debates would take place at Hippel's, a Weinstube (wine bar) in Friedrichstraße, attended by, amongst others, the young Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, at that time still adherents of Feuerbach. Stirner met Engels many times and Engels even recalled that they were "great friends" (Duzbrüder).^[5] but it is still unclear whether Marx and Stirner ever met. It does not appear that Stirner contributed much to the discussions but was a faithful member of the club and an attentive listener.^[6] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Friedrichstraße - view to north The Friedrichstraße (pronounced in IPA) (Frederick Street) is a major shopping street in (east) central Berlin. ...

Cover of Max Stirner - His Life and Work (English translation) by John Henry Mackay.

The only portrait we have of Stirner consists of a cartoon by Engels, drawn forty years later from memory on the request of Stirner's biographer John Henry Mackay. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... John Henry Mackay (Greenock, Scotland, 1864 - Stahnsdorf 1933). ... John Henry Mackay (Greenock, Scotland, 1864 - Stahnsdorf 1933). ...

Stirner worked as a schoolteacher in a gymnasium for young girls owned by Madame Gropius^[7] when he wrote his major work The Ego and Its Own, which in part is a polemic against both Hegel and some Young Hegelians including Ludwig Feuerbach and Bruno Bauer, but also against communists such as Wilhelm Weitling and the anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. He resigned from his teaching position in anticipation of the controversy arising from his major work's publication in October 1844. In education, teachers are those who teach students or pupils, often a course of study or a practical skill. ... The Ego and Its Own (German: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum; also translated as The Individual and His Property; a literal translation would read The Sole One and His Property) is the main work by German philosopher Max Stirner, published in 1844. ... This article is about communism as a form of society, as an ideology advocating that form of society, and as a popular movement. ... Weitling, Wilhelm [vait-], 1808–1871 was the first German communist or socialist of importance. ... Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of hierarchy and imposed authority. ... Pierre Joseph Proudhon. ...

Stirner married twice; his first wife was a household servant, with whom he fell in love at an early age. Soon after their marriage, she died due to complications with pregnancy in 1838. In 1843 he married Marie Dähnhardt, an intellectual associated with Die Freien. They divorced in 1846. The Ego and Its Own was dedicated "to my sweetheart Marie Dähnhardt". Marie later converted to Catholicism and died in 1902 in London. Marie Dähnhardt was a German intellectual associated with Die Freien, who was at one point married to the philosopher Max Stirner. ... A 19th century circle of political philosophers in Germany, gathering for informal discussion over a period of a few years. ... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

One of the most curious events in those times was that Stirner planned and financed (with his second wife's inheritance) an attempt by some Young Hegelians to own and operate a milk-shop on co-operative principles. This enterprise failed partly because the German dairy farmers were suspicious of these well-dressed intellectuals. The milk shop was also so well decorated that most of the potential customers felt too poorly dressed to buy their milk there.

After The Ego and Its Own, Stirner published German translations of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and Jean-Baptiste Say's Traite d'Economie Politique, to little financial gain. He also replied to his critics in a small work titled History of Reaction in 1852. For other persons named Adam Smith, see Adam Smith (disambiguation). ... Adam Smith An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist Adam Smith, published on March 9, 1776 during the Scottish Enlightenment. ... Jean-Baptiste Say (January 5, 1767 – November 15, 1832) was a French economist and businessman. ...

In 1856, Stirner died in Berlin from an infected insect bite. It is said that Bruno Bauer was the only Young Hegelian present at his funeral.

Philosophy

Main article: Philosophy of Max Stirner

See also: Individualist_anarchism#Egoist_individualist_anarchism

Caricature of Max Stirner taken from a sketch by Friedrich Engels (1820 - 1895) of the meetings of "Die Freien".

Stirner's claim that the state is an illegitimate institution has made him an influence upon the anarchist tradition; his thought is often seen as a form of individualist anarchism. Stirner however does not identify himself as an anarchist, and includes anarchists among the parties subject to his criticism. The philosophy of Max Stirner is credited as an influence on the development of nihilism, existentialism, post-modernism and anarchism, especially of individualist anarchism and postanarchism. ... Theory and practice Issues History Culture By region Lists Related Anarchism Portal Politics Portal ·        Individualist anarchism (also anarchist individualism, anarcho-individualism, individualistic anarchism) refers to any of several traditions that hold that individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective body or public... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of hierarchy and imposed authority. ... Theory and practice Issues History Culture By region Lists Related Anarchism Portal Politics Portal ·        Individualist anarchism (also anarchist individualism, anarcho-individualism, individualistic anarchism) refers to any of several traditions that hold that individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective body or public...

Stirner mocks revolution in the traditional sense as tacitly statist. David Leopold's conclusion (in his introduction to the Cambridge University Press edition) is that Stirner "...saw humankind as 'fretted in dark superstition' but denied that he sought their enlightenment and welfare" (Ibidem, p. xxxii). For other uses, see Revolution (disambiguation). ... Dr David Leopold is a fixed term fellow in Politics at Mansfield College, Oxford University. ... The headquarters of the Cambridge University Press, in Trumpington Street, Cambridge. ...

As with the Classical Skeptics Stirner's method of self-liberation is opposed to faith or belief; life is free from "dogmatic presuppositions" (p. 135, 309) or any "fixed standpoint" (p. 295). It is not merely Christian dogma but also a variety of European atheist ideologies that are condemned as crypto-Christian for putting ideas in an equivalent role. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... For other senses of this word, see dogma (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ... An ideology is a collection of ideas. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ...

What Stirner proposes is not that concepts should rule people, but that people should rule concepts. The denial of absolute truth is rooted in Stirner's the "nothingness" of the self. Stirner presents a detached life of non-dogmatic, open-minded engagement with the world "as it is" (unpolluted by "faith", Christian or humanist), coupled with the awareness that there is no soul, no personal essence of any kind. For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... See also the specific life stance known as Humanism For the Renaissance liberal arts movement, see Renaissance humanism Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human qualities...

Because I cannot grasp the moon, is it therefore sacred to me, an Astarte? If I could only grasp you, I surely would, and, if I could only find a means to get up to you, you shall not frighten me! You inapprehensible one, you shall remain inapprehensible to me only until I have acquired the might for apprehension and call you my own; I do not give myself up before you, but only bide my time. Even if for the present I put up with my inability to touch you, I yet remember it against you.

– Max Stirner, The Ego and Its Own

Hegel's influence

Scholars such as Karl Löwith and Lawrence Stepelevich have argued that Hegel was a major influence on The Ego and Its Own^{[citation needed]}. Stepelevich argues that while The Ego and its Own evidently has an "un-Hegelian structure and tone to the work as a whole", as well as being fundamentally hostile to Hegel's conclusions about the self and the world, this does not mean that Hegel had no effect on Stirner. Karl Löwith (9 January 1897 in Munich – 26 May 1973 in Heidelberg) was a German-Jewish philosopher, a student of Heidegger. ... Lawrence Stepelevich is an American philosopher associated with a renewed interest in the works of Georg Hegel, particularly since the fall of the Soviet Union, with less emphasis placed on Marxs interpretations than had previously been the case. ... The Ego and Its Own (German: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum; also translated as The Individual and His Property; a literal translation would read The Sole One and His Property) is the main work by German philosopher Max Stirner, published in 1844. ... The Ego and Its Own (German: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum; also translated as The Individual and His Property; a literal translation would read The Sole One and His Property) is the main work by German philosopher Max Stirner, published in 1844. ...

To go beyond and against Hegel in true dialectical fashion is in some way continuing Hegel's project, and Stepelevich argues that this effort of Stirner's is, in fact, a completion of Hegel's project^{[citation needed]}. Stepelevich concludes his argument referring to Jean Hyppolite, who in summing up the intention of Hegel's Phenomenology, stated: "The history of the world is finished; all that is needed is for the specific individual to rediscover it in himself." Jean Hyppolite (Jonzac 1907 - Paris 1968) was a French philosopher known for championing the work of Hegel, and other German philosophers, and educating some of Frances most prominent post-war thinkers. ...

Works

The False Principle of our Education

In 1842 Das unwahre Prinzip unserer Erziehung (The false Principle of our Education) or Humanism and Realism, was published in Rheinische Zeitung, which was edited by Marx at the time.^[8] Written as a reaction to Otto Friedrich Theodor Heinsius treatise on Humanism vs. Realism. Stirner explains that education in the classical humanists method or the practical education of the realists, still lacks true value. Education is part of the objective of becoming an individual and as an individual you should acquire education for the benefit it gives you in becoming an individual. The Rheinische Zeitung was a 19th century German newspaper, edited most famously by Karl Marx. ... Marx is a common German surname. ...

Art and Religion

Art and Religion was also Published in Rheinische Zeitung in 1842 while Marx was editor. It addresses Bauer and his publication against Hegel called Hegel's doctrine of religion and art judged from the standpoint of faith. The Rheinische Zeitung was a 19th century German newspaper, edited most famously by Karl Marx. ...

The Ego and Its Own

Main article: The Ego and Its Own

Stirner's main work is The Ego and Its Own (org. 'Der Einzige und sein Eigentum'), which appeared in Leipzig in 1844.In The Ego and Its Own, Stirner launches a radical anti-authoritarian and individualist critique of contemporary Prussian society, and modern western society as such. He offers an approach to human existence which depicts the self as a creative non-entity, beyond language and reality. The book proclaims that all religions and ideologies rest on empty concepts. The same holds true for society's institutions, that claim authority over the individual, be it the state, legislation, the church, or the systems of education such as Universities. The Ego and Its Own (German: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum; also translated as The Individual and His Property; a literal translation would read The Sole One and His Property) is the main work by German philosopher Max Stirner, published in 1844. ... The Ego and Its Own (German: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum; also translated as The Individual and His Property; a literal translation would read The Sole One and His Property) is the main work by German philosopher Max Stirner, published in 1844. ... Leipzig ( ; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk from the Sorbian word for Tilia) is, with a population of over 506,000, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. ... The Ego and Its Own (German: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum; also translated as The Individual and His Property; a literal translation would read The Sole One and His Property) is the main work by German philosopher Max Stirner, published in 1844. ... Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism, which is defined as concentration of power in a leader or an elite not constitutionally responsible to the people or the doctrine that advocates such absolutism in rule, as in autocracy, despotism, dictatorship, and totalitarianism. ... For judgements of value about collectivism and individualism, see individualism and collectivism. ... For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Reality (disambiguation). ... Political Ideologies Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. ... For other uses, see Concept (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see State (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... For the architectural structure, see Church (building). ... A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. ...

Stirner's argument explores and extends the limits of Hegelian criticism, aiming his critique especially at those of his contemporaries, particularly Ludwig Feuerbach. And popular 'ideologies', including nationalism, statism, liberalism, socialism, communism and humanism. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (August 27, 1770 - November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, in present-day southwest Germany. ... Political Ideologies Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. ... Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolising French nationalism during the July Revolution 1830. ... Statism (or Etatism) is a term that is used to describe: Specific instances of state intervention in personal, social or economic matters. ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subjfuck grapesect to control by the community[1] for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ... See also the specific life stance known as Humanism For the Renaissance liberal arts movement, see Renaissance humanism Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human qualities...

In the time of spirits thoughts grew till they overtopped my head, whose offspring they yet were; they hovered about me and convulsed me like fever-phantasies — an awful power. The thoughts had become corporeal on their own account, were ghosts, e. g. God, Emperor, Pope, Fatherland, etc. If I destroy their corporeity, then I take them back into mine, and say: "I alone am corporeal." And now I take the world as what it is to me, as mine, as my property; I refer all to myself.

– Max Stirner, The Ego and Its Own, p 15. The Ego and Its Own (German: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum; also translated as The Individual and His Property; a literal translation would read The Sole One and His Property) is the main work by German philosopher Max Stirner, published in 1844. ...

Stirner's Critics

Recensenten Stirners, published in September 1845 is an article which replys to critics of The Ego and its Own including Feuerbach.

History of Reaction

Geschichte der Reaction (History of Reaction) was published in two volumes in 1851 by Allgemeine Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt and immediately banned in Austria.^[9] It was written in the context of the recent German revolution of 1848/49 (March Revolution) and is mainly a collection of the works of others selected and translated by Stirner. The introduction and some additional passages were Stirner's work. Edmund Burke and Auguste Comte are quoted to show two opposing views of Revolution. // Germany at the time of the Revolutions of 1848 was a collection of 38 states including Austria loosely bound together in the German Confederation after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. ... Edmund Burke (January 12, 1729[1] – July 9, 1797) was an Anglo-Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher, who served for many years in the British House of Commons as a member of the Whig party. ... Auguste Comte (full name: Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte; January 17, 1798 - September 5, 1857) was a French thinker who coined the term sociology. ...

Criticism

Stirner's work did not go unnoticed among his contemporaries. Stirner's attacks on ideology, in particular Feuerbach's humanism, forced Feuerbach into print. Moses Hess (at that time close to Marx) and Szeliga (pseudonym of Franz Zychlin von Zychlinski, an adherent of Bruno Bauer) also replied to Stirner. Stirner answered the criticism in a German periodical, in the article Stirner's Critics (org. Recensenten Stirners, September 1845), which clarifies several points of interest to readers of the book - especially in relation to Feuerbach. Moses Hess Moses Hess (June 21, 1812– April 6, 1875), adopted the name Moritz. but later reverted to his original name Moses, thus re-claiming his Jewish identity. ...

While The German Ideology so assured The Ego and Its Own a place of curious interest among Marxist readers, Marx's ridicule of Stirner has played a significant role in the subsequent marginalization of Stirner's work, in popular and academic discourse. The German Ideology (1845) was a book written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels around April or early May 1845. ... The Ego and Its Own (German: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum; also translated as The Individual and His Property; a literal translation would read The Sole One and His Property) is the main work by German philosopher Max Stirner, published in 1844. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... Discourse is a term used in semantics as in discourse analysis, but it also refers to a social conception of discourse, often linked with the work of French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926-1984) and Jürgen Habermas The Theory of Communicative Action (1985). ...

Influence

Stirner's philosophy has been almost completely ignored by professional philosophers. Characterized as disturbing and something that ought not even be mentioned in polite company, sometimes even considered a direct threat to civilization. It should be examined as briefly as possible and is then best forgotten. Edmund Husserl once warned a small audience about the "seducing power" of »Der Einzige« — but never mentioned it in his writing[1]. As the renowned art critic Herbert Read observed, Stirner's book has remained 'stuck in the gizzard' of Western culture since it first appeared. Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (April 8, 1859, ProstÄ›jov – April 26, 1938, Freiburg) was a German philosopher, known as the father of phenomenology. ... Read in 1958. ...

Many thinkers have read, and been affected by The Ego and Its Own in their youth including Rudolf Steiner, Gustav Landauer, Carl Schmitt and Jürgen Habermas. But few openly admit any influence on their own thinking. Ernst Jünger's book Eumeswil, had the character of the "Anarch", based on Stirner's "Einzige." The Ego and Its Own (German: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum; also translated as The Individual and His Property; a literal translation would read The Sole One and His Property) is the main work by German philosopher Max Stirner, published in 1844. ... Rudolf Steiner. ... Gustav Landauer (7 April 1870 in Karlsruhe, Germany — 2 May 1919 in Munich, Germany) was a German anarchist. ... Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (July 11, 1888 - April 7, 1985) was a German legal theoretician and political scientist. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger, (March 29, 1895 – February 17, 1998) was a German author of novels and accounts of his war experiences. ... The term Anarch has had several uses: Anarch (sovereign individual) Anarch (World of Darkness) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

Several other authors, philosophers and artists have cited, quoted or otherwise referred to Max Stirner. They include Albert Camus in The Rebel (the section on Stirner is omitted from the majority of English editions including Penguin's) , Benjamin Tucker, Dora Marsden, Georg Brandes, Rudolf Steiner, Robert Anton Wilson, Italian individualist anarchist Frank Brand, the notorious antiartist Marcel Duchamp, several writers of the Situationist International, and Max Ernst, who titled a 1925 painting L'unique et sa propriété. The Italian dictator Benito Mussolini read and was inspired by Stirner, and made several references to him in his newspaper articles, prior to rising to power. Authorship redirects here. ... A philosopher is a person who thinks deeply regarding people, society, the world, and/or the universe. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Albert Camus (IPA: ) (November 7, 1913 – January 4, 1960) was a French author and philosopher. ... It has been suggested that Penguin Modern Poets, Penguin Great Ideas be merged into this article or section. ... Benjamin Ricketson Tucker Benjamin Ricketson Tucker (April 17, 1854 – June 22, 1939) was the leading proponent of American individualist anarchism in the 19th century. ... Dora Marsden (5 March 1882 – 13 December 1960) was an English feminist activist, an editor of avant-garde literary journals, and an author of philosophical writings. ... Georg Brandes, a scetch for a painting, by P.S. Krøyer, 1900 Georg Morris Cohen Brandes (February 4, 1842 - February 19, 1927) was a Danish critic and scholar who had great influence on Scandinavian literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. ... Rudolf Steiner. ... Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher. ... Enrico Arrigoni (pseudonym: Frank Brand) was an Italian individualist anarchist influenced by the work of Max Stirner. ... Marcel Duchamp (pronounced ) (July 28, 1887 – October 2, 1968) was a French artist (he became an American citizen in 1955) whose work and ideas had considerable influence on the development of post-World War II Western art, and whose advice to modern art collectors helped shape the tastes of the... The Situationist International (SI) was a small group of international political and artistic agitators with roots in Marxism, Lettrism and the early 20th century European artistic and political avant-gardes. ... Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning in 1948. ... “Mussolini” redirects here. ... Much of the recent sociological debate on power revolves around the issue of the constraining and/or enabling nature of power. ...

Since its appearance in 1844, The Ego and Its Own has seen periodic revivals of popular, political and academic interest, based around widely divergent translations and interpretations — some psychological, others political in their emphasis. Today, many ideas associated with post-left anarchy criticism of ideology and uncompromising individualism - are clearly related to Stirner's. He has also been regarded as pioneering individualist feminism, since his objection to any absolute concept also clearly counts gender roles as 'spooks'. His ideas were also adopted by post-anarchism, with Saul Newman largely in agreement with many of Stirner's criticisms of classical anarchism, including his rejection of revolution and essentialism. The Ego and Its Own (German: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum; also translated as The Individual and His Property; a literal translation would read The Sole One and His Property) is the main work by German philosopher Max Stirner, published in 1844. ... Post-left anarchy is a recent current in anarchist thought that promotes a critique of anarchisms relationship to traditional leftism. ... Individualism is a term used to describe a moral, political, or social outlook that stresses human independence and the importance of individual self-reliance and liberty. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A bagpiper in Scottish military clan-uniform. ... Post-anarchism or postanarchism is the term used to represent anarchist philosophies developed since the 1980s using post-structuralist and postmodernist approaches. ... Saul Newman (born 1972) is a political theorist and central post-anarchist thinker, currently honorary research fellow at the University of Western Australia (not to be confused with the Saul Newman who works at American University in Washington, D.C.). He received his B.A. from the University of Sydney... In philosophy, essentialism is the view, that, for any specific kind of entity it is at least theoretically possible to specify a finite list of characteristics —all of which any entity must have to belong to the group defined. ...

Marx and Engels

Caricature by Friedrich Engels (1820 - 1895) of the meetings of "Die Freien"

Engels commented on Stirner in poetry at the time of Die Freien: Image File history File links Skiz-hegel. ... Image File history File links Skiz-hegel. ... Friedrich Engels (November 28, 1820 – August 5, 1895) was a German social scientist and philosopher, who developed communist theory alongside his better-known collaborator, Karl Marx, co-authoring The Communist Manifesto (1848). ... A 19th century circle of political philosophers in Germany, gathering for informal discussion over a period of a few years. ...

Look at Stirner, look at him, the peaceful enemy of all constraint.
For the moment, he is still drinking beer,
Soon he will be drinking blood as though it were water.
When others cry savagely "down with the kings"
Stirner immediately supplements "down with the laws also."
Stirner full of dignity proclaims;
You bend your willpower and you dare to call yourselves free.
You become accustomed to slavery
Down with dogmatism, down with law."^[10]

He once even recalled at how they were "great friends (Duzbrüder)".^[11] In November 1844, Engels wrote a letter to Marx. He reported first on a visit to Moses Hess in Cologne, and then went on to note that during this visit Hess had given him a press copy of a new book by Max Stirner, Der Einzige und Sein Eigenthum.In his letter to Marx, Engels promised to send a copy of Der Einzige to him, for it certainly deserved their attention, as Stirner: "had obviously, among the 'Free Ones', the most talent, independence and diligence".^[12] To begin with Engels was enthusiastic about the book, and expressed his opinions freely in letters to Marx: For other uses, see Cologne (disambiguation). ...

But what is true in his principle, we, too, must accept. And what is true is that before we can be active in any cause we must make it our own, egoistic cause-and that in this sense, quite aside from any material expectations, we are communists in virtue of our egoism, that out of egoism we want to be human beings and not merely individuals."^[13]

Later, Marx wrote a major criticism of Stirner's Work, co-authored with Engels, the number of pages Marx and Engels devote to attacking Stirner in (the unexpurgated text of) The German Ideology exceeds the total of Stirner's written works. As Isaiah Berlin has described it, Stirner "is pursued through five hundred pages of heavy-handed mockery and insult".^[14] The book was written in 1845 - 1846, but not published until 1932. Marx's lengthy, ferocious polemic against Stirner has since been considered an important turning point in Marx's intellectual development from "idealism" to "materialism". The German Ideology (1845) was a book written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels around April or early May 1845. ... Sir Isaiah Berlin, OM (June 6, 1909 – November 5, 1997), was a political philosopher and historian of ideas, regarded as one of the leading liberal thinkers of the 20th century. ... This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedias quality standards. ... In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions; that matter is the only substance. ...

Stirner and post-structuralism

Saul Newman calls Stirner a proto-poststructuralist who on the one hand basically anticipated modern post-structuralists such as Foucault, Lacan, Deleuze, and Derrida, but on the other had already transcended them, thus providing what they were unable to: paving the ground for a "Non-Essentialist" critique of present liberal capitalist society. However, Stirner might have disagreed with the poststructuralist idea that as a product of systems, the self is a determination of external factors. For Stirner, the self cannot be a mere product of systems. There remains, for Stirner, a place deep within the self which language cannot explain and that social systems cannot destroy. Saul Newman (born 1972) is a political theorist and central post-anarchist thinker, currently honorary research fellow at the University of Western Australia (not to be confused with the Saul Newman who works at American University in Washington, D.C.). He received his B.A. from the University of Sydney... See: Léon Foucault (physicist) Foucault pendulum Michel Foucault (philosopher) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Jacques Lacan Jacques Lacan (April 13, 1901 – September 9, 1981) was an influential French psychoanalyst as well as a structuralist who based much of his theories on Ferdinand de Saussures theories on language. ... Gilles Deleuze (January 18, 1925 - November 4, 1995) was a major French philosopher of the late 20th century. ... Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (July 15, 1930 – October 8, 2004) was an Algerian-born French literary critic and philosopher of Jewish descent, considered the first to develop deconstruction. Positioning Derridas thought Derrida had a significant effect on continental philosophy and on literary theory, particularly through his long-time... In philosophy, non-essentialism is the belief that, for any given entity or subject, there are no specified values or characteristics which that entity must have in order to be defined as that entity. ...

The Nietzsche Dispute

It has been argued that Friedrich Nietzsche did read Stirner's book, yet even he did not mention Stirner anywhere in his work, his letters, or his papers [2]. As Nietzsche studied Friedrich Albert Lange's history of Materialism, where Stirner is mentioned in comparison to Schopenhauer, it is likely that he was at least aware of Stirner. Franz Overbeck said that he went through the records of the university library of Nietzsche's favourite student Adolf Baumgarten and on the 14th of July 1874 he had borrowed Stirner's book,^[15] "on Nietzsche's warmest recommendations". He also recalled that Nietzsche came to visit Overbeck and his wife in the winter of 1878/1879, and had spoken of two writers he had taken an interest in, Klinger and Stirner.^[16] Nietzsche's thinking sometimes resembles Stirner's to such a degree that Eduard von Hartmann called him a plagiarist. This seems too simple an explanation of what Nietzsche might have done with Stirner's ideas, if he was aware of them. Stirner's book had been in oblivion for half a century, and only after Nietzsche became well-known in the 1890s did Stirner become more well-known, although only as an awkward predecessor of Nietzsche. It has been suggested that Nietzsche - as with Marx's concept of historical materialism in 1845/46 - did not really plagiarize Stirner but instead "superseded" him by creating a philosophy. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) (IPA: ) was a nineteenth-century German philosopher. ... Friedrich Albert Lange (September 28, 1828 - November 23, 1875), was a German philosopher and sociologist. ... In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions; that matter is the only substance. ... Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer (February 22, 1788 – September 21, 1860) was a German philosopher born in Gdańsk (Danzig), Poland. ... Franz Overbeck with his wife Ida, ca. ... ... Historical materialism is the methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history which was first articulated by Karl Marx (1818-1883), although Marx himself never used the term (he referred it as philosophical materialism, a term he used to distinguish it from what he called popular materialism). Historical...

Comments by contemporaries

Twenty years after the appearance of Stirner's book, the author Friedrich Albert Lange wrote the following: Friedrich Albert Lange (September 28, 1828 - November 23, 1875), was a German philosopher and sociologist. ...

Stirner went so far in his notorious work, 'Der Einzige und Sein Eigenthum' (1845), as to reject all moral ideas. Everything that in any way, whether it be external force, belief, or mere idea, places itself above the individual and his caprice, Stirner rejects as a hateful limitation of himself. What a pity that to this book — the extremest that we know anywhere — a second positive part was not added. It would have been easier than in the case of Schelling's philosophy; for out of the unlimited Ego I can again beget every kind of Idealism as my will and my idea. Stirner lays so much stress upon the will, in fact, that it appears as the root force of human nature. It may remind us of Schopenhauer. Notable people with the last name of Schelling include: Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German philosopher Thomas Schelling, American economist and Nobel laureate Category: ... eGO is a company that builds electric motor scooters which are becoming popular for urban transportation and vacation use. ... This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedias quality standards. ... Look up will in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... IDEA may refer to: Electronic Directory of the European Institutions IDEA League Improvement and Development Agency Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Indian Distance Education Association Integrated Data Environments Australia Intelligent Database Environment for Advanced Applications IntelliJ IDEA - a Java IDE Interactive Database for Energy-efficient Architecture International IDEA (International Institute... Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer (February 22, 1788 – September 21, 1860) was a German philosopher born in Gdańsk (Danzig), Poland. ...

– History of Materialism, ii. 256

Notes

1. ^ The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, volume 8, The Macmillan Company and The Free Press, New York 1967.
2. ^ Max Stirner: His Work and Life p.28
3. ^ Max Stirner: His Work and Life p.37
4. ^ The Encyclopedia of Philsosophy, volume 8, The Macmillan Company and The Free Press, New York 1967.
5. ^ Lawrence L Stepelevich, The revival of Max Stirner
6. ^ Gide Charles & Rist, Charles. A History of Economic Doctrines from the Time of the Physiocrats to the Present Day. Harrap 1956, p. 612 "Max Stirner, who was one of the most faithful members and a most attentive listener, although it does not seem that he contributed much to the discussion..."
7. ^ The Encyclopedia of Philsosophy, volume 8, The Macmillan Company and The Free Press, New York 1967
8. ^ Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, The Macmillan company Press, New York, 1967
9. ^ Max Stirner his life and his work, John Henry Mackay, 2005
10. ^ Henri Arvon, Aux sources de 1'existentialisme Max Stirner (Paris, 1954), p. 14
11. ^ Lawrence L Stepelevich, The revival of Max Stirner
12. ^ Lawrence L Stepelevich, The revival of Max Stirner
13. ^ Zwischen 18 and 25, pp. 237-238.
14. ^ I. Berlin, Karl Marx (New York, 1963), 143.
15. ^ Safranski, Rudiger. Nietzsche: a Philosophical Biography Granta Books, New York (2002), p.126-7.
16. ^ Franz Overbeck's Memoirs on Nietzsche "Neue Rundschau", 17 (1906), vol.1.

References

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Ego and Its Own

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Max Stirner

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Max Stirner

• Stirner, Max: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum (1845 [October 1844]). Stuttgart: Reclam-Verlag, 1972ff; engl. trans. The Ego and Its Own (1907), ed. David Leopold, Cambridge/ New York: CUP 1995
• Stirner, Max: "Recensenten Stirners" (Sept. 1845). In: Parerga, Kritiken, Repliken, Bernd A. Laska, ed., Nürnberg: LSR-Verlag, 1986; engl. trans. Stirner's Critics (abridged), see below

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ... Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Ego and Its Own (German: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum; also translated as The Individual and His Property; a literal translation would read The Sole One and His Property) is the main work by German philosopher Max Stirner, published in 1844. ... Dr David Leopold is a fixed term fellow in Politics at Mansfield College, Oxford University. ...

External links

General

• Max Stirner in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, an extensive introduction
• Svein Olav Nybergs website on Max Stirner, with extensive links to texts and references
• / Max Stirner Project / H. Ibrahim Türkdogan
• Non Serviam, Internet periodical dedicated to Stirner's ideas

Relationship with other philosophers

• Max Stirner, a durable dissident, 'How Marx and Nietzsche suppressed their colleague Max Stirner and why he has intellectually survived them'
• Stirner Delighted in His Construction — "loves miracles, but can only perform a logical miracle," by Karl Marx
• Nietzsche's initial crisis due to an encounter with Stirner's "The Ego", by Bernd A. Laska (2002)
• Max Stirner As Hegelian, By Lawrence S. Stepelevich

Texts

• The complete original text in German of Der Einzige und sein Eigentum
• The complete English edition of "The Ego and his Own", in the translation of Steven T. Byington.
• Recensenten Stirners / Stirner's Critics bilingual: full text in German / abridged text in English (trans. Frederick M. Gordon)