Dagobert D. Runes

Dagobert David Runes (January 6, 1902 – September 24, 1982) was an immigrant publisher in the US, a philosopher and author.

Biography

Runes was born in Zastavna, Bukovina, Austro-Hungary (now in Ukraine). He received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Vienna in 1924, under the direction of Moritz Schlick, one of the founders of the Vienna Circle of positivist philosophers.^[1]

Inspired by youthful vigor and free-thinking ideas, Runes's first book entitled The True Jesus or the Fifth Gospel (1927), published in a Viennese publishing house with the financial support of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, created such a stir, says Professor of German literature Ulrich E. Bach, that its publisher, Rudolf Cerny, was sentenced to sixty days in prison.^{[2]: 279–280} Thus Runes - fearing a charge of blasphemy - was forced to emigrate to New York as early as 1928.^{[2]: 278, 280}

In the U.S. he became editor of The Modern Thinker (Founded as The Thinker in 1929, acquired and renamed by Runes in 1932, closed in 1936.), The Modern Psychologist (1932-1938), and Current Digest (1933-1940).^[3] From 1931 to 1934 he was Director of the Institute for Advanced Education in New York City. One of its earliest creations as a publisher was the scholarly Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, which is still being published.^[4][5]: 72 In 1941 he founded the Philosophical Library,^[6] a spiritual organization and publishing house. He wrote and edited numerous books on the subjects of philosophy, politics, education, Judaism and his own poetry.^[7] His poem “Gottes Wiederkehr” was adapted for a four-part mixed choir as Op. 50a “Dreimal tausend Jahre” (“Three times a thousand Years”) by Arnold Schoenberg.^[8] In New York, Runes socialized with many public figures and especially those driven into exile by Hitler. Alfred Adler, Albert Einstein and Emil Ludwig were among his illustrious acquaintances.^[7]

Selected works

• Der wahre Jesus oder das fünfte Evangelium R. Cerny, 1927.
• Dictionary of Philosophy (editor) Philosophical Library, 1942.
• The Selected Writings of Benjamin Rush (editor) Philosophical Library, 1947.
• Jordan Lieder: Frühe Gedichte (in German) The Philosophical Library, 1948.
• Letters to My Son The Philosophical Library, 1949.
• The Hebrew Impact on Western Civilization The Philosophical Library, 1951.
• Spinoza Dictionary The Philosophical Library, 1951.
• Of God, the Devil and the Jews The Philosophical Library, 1952.
• The Soviet Impact on Society: A Recollection, 1953.
• Letters to My Daughter The Philosophical Library, 1954.
• Treasury of Philosophy (editor) The Philosophical Library, 1955.
• Treasury of World Literature (editor) The Philosophical Library, 1956.
• On the Nature of Man The Philosophical Library, 1956.
• Sartre, J.P., Being and Nothingness Translated by Hazel E. Barnes, The Philosophical Library, 1956.
• Pictorial History of Philosophy (editor) The Philosophical Library, 1959.
• A Dictionary of Thought (editor) Philosophical Library, 1959.
• A World without Jews (translator) The Philosophical Library, 1959.
• The Art of Thinking The Philosophical Library, 1961.
• A Treasury of World Science (editor) The Philosophical Library, 1962.
• Despotism: A Pictorial History of Tyranny (author) The Philosophical Library, 1963 Library of Congress Card catalog #62-22269
• The Disinterested and the Law The Philosophical Library, 1964.
• Philosophy for Everyman: From Socrates to Sartre, Philosophical Library, Library of Congress Card #68-22351, ©1968.

References

Sources

• Pictorial History of Philosophy by Dagobert D. Runes, 1959.
• Karl Marx: Selected essays.” 1926

External links

• Works by or about Dagobert D. Runes at Internet Archive
• Dictionary of Philosophy
• Correspondence with Einstein

This page was last edited on 17 February 2024, at 20:11