Ruth Nanda Anshen (June 14, 1900 – December 2, 2003) was an American philosopher, author and editor. She was the author of several books including ''The Anatomy of Evil'', ''Biography of An Idea'', ''Morals Equals Manners'' and ''The Mystery of Consciousness: A Prescription for Human Survival''.

Life

Anshen was born on June 14, 1900, in Lynn,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, to Jewish Russian immigrants. She studied at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

under

Alfred North Whitehead Alfred North Whitehead (15 February 1861 – 30 December 1947) was an English mathematician and philosopher. He created the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which has been applied in a wide variety of disciplines, inclu ...

. During her education, she developed a desire to unite scholars from all over the world from varying fields. In 1941, she put together the Science of Culture Series, hoping to develop a "unitary principle under which there could be subsumed and evaluated the nature of man and the nature of life, the relationship of knowledge to life."

Death

Ruth Nanda Anshen died at age 103 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on December 2, 2003.

Affiliations and legacy

She was a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, a member of the

American Philosophical Association The American Philosophical Association (APA) is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarl ...

, the History of Science Society, and the Metaphysical Society of America. In 1958, she established the Anshen-Columbia University Seminars on the Nature of Man. In the 1990s, the Council for the Anshen Transdisciplinary Lectureships in Art, Science and the Philosophy of Culture included

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...

Fred Hoyle Sir Fred Hoyle (24 June 1915 – 20 August 2001) was an English astronomer who formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and was one of the authors of the influential B2FH paper, B2FH paper. He also held controversial stances on oth ...

, Paul O. Kristeller, Edith Porada, Meyer Schapiro, Hugh Thomas, John A. Wheeler, and C. N. Yang.

Career

Anshen was the editor of several series of books, including the World Perspectives series, published by Harper & Row, of which two volumes were by

Erich Fromm Erich Seligmann Fromm (; ; March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a German-American social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and set ...

: '' The Art of Loving'' (Volume 9) and '' To Have or to Be?'' (Volume 50). Another notable was '' Deschooling Society'' (Volume 44) by

Ivan Illich Ivan Dominic Illich ( ; ; 4 September 1926 – 2 December 2002) was an Austrian Catholic priest, Theology, theologian, philosopher, and social critic. His 1971 book ''Deschooling Society'' criticises modern society's institutional approach to ...

.''Deschooling Society,'' Ivan Illich, Harper & Row, 1971 She also edited the ''Religious Perspectives Series'' ( Harper & Row), ''Perspectives in Humanism Series'' ( World Publishing Company), ''The Tree of Life Series'' ( Seabury Press), and ''The Convergence Series'' (

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

Selected works

*''Freedom: Its Meaning'' (1940) *''Beyond Victory'' (1943) *''The Family: Its Function and Destiny'' (1949) *''Moral Principles of Action: Man's Ethical Imperative'' (1952) *''Language : an enquiry into its meaning and function'' (1957) *''The Reality of the Devil: The Evil in Man'' (1974) *''The Anatomy of Evil'' (1985), Revised edition of ''The Reality of the Devil: Evil in Man'' (1974) *''Biography of An Idea'' (1986) *''Morals Equals Manners'' (1992) *''The Mystery of Consciousness: A Prescription for Human Survival'' (1994)

References

External links

World Perspectives Series
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anshen, Ruth Nanda 1900 births 2003 deaths American women centenarians American people of Russian-Jewish descent Philosophers from Massachusetts Jewish philosophers American women editors American editors American women philosophers Members of the American Philosophical Society 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women academics 21st-century American academics 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women academics 20th-century American academics Jewish centenarians 20th-century American philosophers