Walter Kaufmann

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born

July 01, 1921 in Freiburg, Germany

died

September 04, 1980

genre

Philosophy, Literature & Fiction, Poetry

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Walter Arnold Kaufmann was a German-American philosopher, translator, and poet. A prolific author, he wrote extensively on a broad range of subjects, such as authenticity and death, moral philosophy and existentialism, theism and atheism, Christianity and Judaism, as well as philosophy and literature. He served for over 30 years as a Professor at Princeton University.

He is renowned as a scholar and translator of Nietzsche. He also wrote a 1965 book on Hegel, and a translation of most of Goethe's Faust.

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Books by Walter Kaufmann

Average rating: 4.05 · 31,924 ratings · 1,103 reviews · 75 distinct works

	Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre 3.96 avg rating — 1,217 ratings — published 1953 — 14 editions	My rating:
	Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist 4.15 avg rating — 847 ratings — published 1949 — 6 editions	My rating:
	Critique of Religion and Philosophy 4.16 avg rating — 101 ratings — 3 editions	My rating:
	Faith Of A Heretic 4.55 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 1978 — 2 editions	My rating:
	From Shakespeare to Existentialism: Essays on Shakespeare and Goethe; Hegel and Kierkegaard; Nietzsche, Rilke and Freud; Jaspers, Heidegger, and Toynb 3.98 avg rating — 46 ratings — 4 editions	My rating:
	Discovering the Mind 1: Goethe, Kant and Hegel 4.17 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 1980 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Tragedy and Philosophy 4.15 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 1968 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Discovering the Mind 2: Nietzsche, Heidegger and Buber by Walter Kaufmann, Ivan Soll (Designed by) 3.89 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 1980 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Discovering the Mind 3: Freud, Adler and Jung 4.11 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 1980 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Without Guilt And Justice: From Decidophobia To Autonomy 4.36 avg rating — 14 ratings — 3 editions	My rating:

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Quotes by Walter Kaufmann

“Man stands alone in the universe, responsible for his condition, likely to remain in a lowly state, but free to reach above the stars.”
― Walter Kaufmann, Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre

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“Success is no proof of virtue. In the case of a book, quick acclaim is presumptive evidence of a lack of substance and originality.”
― Walter Kaufmann

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“Man’s world is manifold, and his attitudes are manifold. What is manifold is often frightening because it is not neat and simple. Men prefer to forget how many possibilities are open to them.
They like to be told that there are two worlds and two ways. This is comforting because it is so tidy. Almost always one way turns out to be common and the other is celebrated as superior.
Those who tell of two ways and praise one are recognised as prophets or great teachers. They save men from confusion and hard choices. They offer a single choice that is easy to make because those who do not take the path that is commended to them live a wretched life.
To walk on this path may be difficult, but the choice is easy, and to hear the celebration of the path is pleasant. Wisdom offers simple schemes, but truth is not so simple.
”
― Walter Kaufmann

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Walter Kaufmann

Author profile

combine editionsBooks by Walter Kaufmann

Quotes by Walter Kaufmann

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Books by Walter Kaufmann