Max Picard (5 June 1888 in

Schopfheim Schopfheim is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Wiese, 10 km north of Rheinfelden, and 13 km east of Lörrach Lörrach () is a town in southwest Germany, in the valley of ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

– 3 October 1965 in

Sorengo Sorengo is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. History Sorengo was first mentioned in 1189 as ''Sourengo'' when the S. Lorenzo Cathedral in Lugano acquired the right to collect tithes. In the Late ...

, Switzerland) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

and philosopher, important as one of the few thinkers writing from a deeply Platonic sensibility in the 20th century.

Biography

Born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

, a German village on the Swiss border, Max Picard studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...

and received his medical degree in

1911 A notable ongoing event was the race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * Ja ...

. He practiced medicine, first in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and later in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. Unsatisfied with the positivist and

Darwinian Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that ...

orientations of the medical profession at the time, he began as of

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

to distance himself from it in order to turn more towards philosophy. In

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...

, he immigrated to Switzerland, first to

Locarno , neighboring_municipalities= Ascona, Avegno, Cadenazzo, Cugnasco, Gerra (Verzasca), Gambarogno, Gordola, Lavertezzo, Losone, Minusio, Muralto, Orselina, Tegna, Tenero-Contra , twintowns =* Gagra, Georgia * Karlovy Vary, Czech Re ...

and later to

Brissago Brissago () is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Brissago lies on the western shore of Lake Maggiore and includes the Brissago Islands. History An ax and ceramic pieces from the Neolithic era as ...

. In 1929, he completed work on ''Das Menschengesicht'' (''The Human Face''). In

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a max ...

, ''Die flucht vor Gott'' (''The Flight From God'') was published. He developed a friendship with fellow immigrant and

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, t ...

Gunter Böhmer in the late 1930s. In

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidde ...

, Picard converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

from the

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

of his youth. He first met the French philosopher

Gabriel Marcel Gabriel Honoré Marcel (7 December 1889 – 8 October 1973) was a French philosopher, playwright, music critic and leading Christian existentialist. The author of over a dozen books and at least thirty plays, Marcel's work focused on the moder ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January– February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the count ...

, and developed a friendship and steady correspondence throughout their lives (published in 2006''Gabriel Marcel-Max Picard: Correspondance 1947-1965'',

L'Harmattan Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in ...

, 2006). Marcel provided the forward to the first French translation of Picard's ''Die Welt des Schweigens'' (''The World of Silence'') in 1953. Picard received the

Johann-Peter-Hebel-Preis The Johann-Peter-Hebel-Preis was endowed in 1936 in honour of the writer and dialectal poet Johann Peter Hebel. The prize is since 1974 awarded every two years (before every year) to writers, translators, essayists, media representatives or scien ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh ...

Emmanuel Levinas Emmanuel Levinas (; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, ...

praised Picard's work in Levinas' collection ''Noms propres'' (''Proper Names'') in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

Selected books

* 1917 ''Expressionistische Bauernmalerei'' 'Expressionist Folk Painting'' München: Delphin * 1921 ''Der letzte Mensch'' 'The Last Man'' Leipzig: E. T. Tal & Co. * 1930 ''Das Menschengesicht'' 'The Human Face'' München: Delphin * 1934 ''Die flucht vor Gott'' 'The Flight From God'' Erlenbach: Rentsch (published in English in 1952) * 1947 ''Hitler in uns selbst'' 'Hitler in Our Selves'' Erlenbach: Rentsch * 1948 ''Die Welt des Schweigens'' 'The World of Silence'' Erlenbach-Zürich/Konstanz: Rensch * 1954 ''Die Atomisierung der Modernen Künste'' 'The Atomization of Modern Arts'' Hamburg: Furche

References

1888 births 1965 deaths 20th-century essayists 20th-century Swiss non-fiction writers 20th-century Swiss philosophers Catholic philosophers Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism German emigrants to Switzerland 19th-century German Jews German male non-fiction writers Jewish philosophers People from Lörrach (district) Philosophers of art Philosophers of religion Philosophers of science Philosophy writers Platonists Swiss essayists Swiss non-fiction writers {{Germany-writer-stub