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     Your question about editions in English of German
"philosophy" texts, has not unexpectedly set me to
thinking. Looking over what is on the shelves, I find
various volumes that may be of interest to you.  Also you
may find something to read among the books lining the walls
of our garage. They are the remnants of the library of
Walter Solmitz who taught philosophy at Bowdoin College.

     From looking at the Minuteman Library Catalogue, I get
the impression that they offer a great variety of
"philosophical" texts in English translation. However,
while the efforts of journalists are eminently
translatable, poetry is not; and neither is "philosophy".
The translation of a philosophical treatise, if it has
meaning at all, will itself be a work of "philosophy",
unavoidably different from the original.

     Philosophy is the purposeful, systematic, responsible
process of thinking. Compare it to music. You become a
musician not by memorizing the biographies of composers,
not even by memorizing the scores of their compositions.
You are a musician only when you play music with meticulous
care and unbounded passion. As a musician, your life is
music; you live by practicing and playing.

     Similarly, "philosophy" is the passionate exercise of
thought.  Everyone who thinks passionately - much easier
said than done, - is a "philosopher".  (Hence the tradition
of bestowing the title Doctor of Philosophy, "Ph.D." on
persons who are or pretend to be very learned.)
Philosophical treatises are valid only to the extent that
they stimulate the reader to think for himself.  Ultimately
philosophy, like religion, is private, individual and
inward. It cannot be "professed", it cannot be taught
(except perhaps by example). It is lived; it is a way of
life.

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Copyright 2008, Ernst Jochen Meyer
