Josef Pieper
| Josef Pieper | |
|---|---|
| Born |
4 May 1904 Elte, German Empire |
| Died | 6 November 1997 (aged 93) Münster, Germany |
| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western Philosophy |
| School | Christian philosophy |
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Main interests
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Philosophy of religion |
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Josef Pieper (German: [ˈpiːpɐ]; 4 May 1904 – 6 November 1997) was a German Catholic philosopher, at the forefront of the Neo-Thomistic wave in twentieth century Catholic philosophy. Among his most notable works are The Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance; Leisure: the Basis of Culture; The Philosophical Act and Guide to Thomas Aquinas (published in England as Introduction to Thomas Aquinas).
Pieper studied philosophy, law and sociology at the universities of Berlin and Münster. After working as a sociologist and freelance writer, he became ordinary professor of philosophical anthropology at the University of Münster, and taught there from 1950 to 1976. As professor emeritus he continued to provide lectures until 1996. With his wife Hildegard, he translated C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, into German (Über den Schmerz, 1954) with an Afterword "On Simplicity of Language in Philosophy". A symposium to celebrate his 90th birthday was held in Münster in May 1994; the papers read there were published as Aufklärung durch Tradition ("Enlightenment through Tradition") in 1995. In 2010 a symposium was held in Paderborn on "Josef Pieper's and C. S. Lewis's View of Man", with papers published in Wahrheit und Selbstüberschreitung ("Truth and Self-Transcendence").
His views are rooted primarily in the Scholasticism of Thomas Aquinas and in the teachings of Plato. In 60 years of creative work as a philosopher and writer, Pieper explicated the wisdom tradition of the West in clear language, and identified its enduring relevance.
Recent champions of Pieper's philosophy in the English-speaking world include James V. Schall, S.J., Professor of Political Philosophy at Georgetown University, Joseph T. Lienhard, S.J., Professor of Theology at Fordham University, Steven Cortright at St. Mary's College of California. and Dr. Francis Grabowski, Rogers State University, Department Head of English and Humanities.
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