I Am an Impure Thinker
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 Cover of I Am an Impure Thinker | |
| Author | Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Social philosophy |
| Genre | Philosophy |
| Publisher | Argo Books |
Publication date | 1970 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 248 |
| ISBN | 0-912148-56-X |
| OCLC | 48806333 |
I Am an Impure Thinker is a book by Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy (1888–1973), German social philosopher and is an English-language introduction to Rosenstock-Huessy's German-language book, Soziologie. It is a collection of essays, which represents an accessible introduction to Rosenstock-Huessy's thought. The "impure thinker" title reflects the author's escape from the bounds set by academic tradition, his belief that thought must be accompanied by passionate convictions and engagement, and that sterile intellect is a disease. While apparently unrelated, the essays nevertheless have an underlying unity, which runs through his discussion of the concepts of William James, the Gospels, the Egyptian symbol of Ka, and other uncommon sources. Together the essays contribute to the discovery of a post-theological language. They answer Dietrich Bonhoeffer's question: "How can we speak of God to modern man who 'has come of age?'"[1] It has been recognized as a summary of Rosenstock-Huessy's insights into Western culture by such thinkers as W. H. Auden, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin E. Marty, and Harold J. Berman.
Rosenstock-Huessy's collection of essays summarize themes and major methodological concerns from his work and provide autobiographical material. In the opening chapter, Farewell to Descartes, he writes:[1]
I am an impure thinker. I am hurt, swayed, shaken, elated, disillusioned, shocked, comforted, and I have to transmit my mental experiences lest I die. And although I may die. To write a book is no luxury. It is a means of survival.
The emphasis upon his impurity is, in large part, one further missive directed at the claims of philosophers who wish, through reason, to achieve truth in its purity. We are, for Rosenstock-Huessy, always caught up in the stresses and strains and impurities of the world and we have a much better chance of improving our condition if we accept this reality and get on with it.
In the foreword of the book, W. H. Auden writes:[1]
Whatever he may have to say about God, Man, the World, Time, etc, Rosenstock-Huessy always starts from his own experience as a human being, who must pass through successive stages between birth and death, learning something essential from each of them
That summarizes of Rosenstock-Huessy's procedure, which combines the personal and the socio-historical.