Josef Pieper was a GermanCatholicphilosopher and an important figure in the resurgence of interest in the thought of Thomas Aquinas in early-to-mid 20th-century philosophy. Among his most notable works are The Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance; Leisure, the Basis of Culture; and Guide to Thomas Aquinas.
Life and career
Pieper studied philosophy, law and sociology at the universities of Berlin and Münster. After working as a sociologist and freelance writer, he became ordinary professor of philosophical anthropology at the University of Münster, and taught there from 1950 to 1976. As professor emeritus he continued to provide lectures until 1996. With his wife Hildegard, he translated C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, into German with an Afterword "On Simplicity of Language in Philosophy". A symposium to celebrate his 90th birthday was held in Münster in May 1994; the papers read there were published as Aufklärung durch Tradition in 1995. In 2010 a symposium was held in Paderborn on "Josef Pieper's and C. S. Lewis's View of Man", with papers published in Wahrheit und Selbstüberschreitung.
Philosophy
His views are rooted primarily in the Scholasticism of Thomas Aquinas and in the teachings of Plato. In 60 years of creative work as a philosopher and writer, Pieper explicated the wisdom tradition of the West in clear language, and identified its enduring relevance.
In 1981 Pieper received the Balzan Prize in Philosophy; in 1987 he was awarded the State Prize of the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. In 1990, he received the Ehrenring of the Görres-Gesellschaft.
Select publications in English
Leisure, the Basis of Culture. Translated by Alexander Dru. With an introduction by T. S. Eliot. London: Faber and Faber, 1952.. New translation by Gerald Malsbary. South Bend: St. Augustine's Press, 1998..
Leisure, the Basis of Culture and The Philosophical Act. Translated by Alexander Dru. With an introduction by James V. Schall, SJ. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2009. 143pp.
The End of Time: a meditation on the philosophy of history. Translated by Michael Bullock. New York:Pantheon Books, 1954.. Reprinted New York: Octagon Books, 1982.. Reprinted San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1999..
Happiness and Contemplation. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston. New York: Pantheon, 1958. Reprinted, with an introduction by Ralph McInerny. South Bend: St. Augustine's Press, 1998..
The Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance. Notre Dame, Ind., 1966.. Translations originally published separately, Fortitude and Temperance translated by Daniel F. Coogan ; Justice translated by Lawrence E. Lynch ; and Prudence translated by Richard and Clara Winston.
Scholasticism: Personalities and Problems of Medieval Philosophy. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston. New York: Pantheon Press, 1960. Reissued South Bend: St. Augustine's Press, 2001..
. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston. New York: Pantheon Books, 1962. Publication in England as Introduction to Thomas Aquinas. London: Faber and Faber, 1962. Reissued San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1991.
Enthusiasm and Divine Madness. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1964.. Reissued South Bend: St. Augustine's Press, 2000.
In Tune with the World: a Theory of Festivity. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1965.. Reissued South Bend: St. Augustine's Press, 1999.
Death and Immortality. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston. New York: Herder & Herder; London: Burns & Oates, 1969.. Reissued South Bend: St. Augustine's Press, 2000.
Hope and History. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston. New York: Herder & Herder; London: Burns & Oates, 1969..
On Hope. Translated by Mary Frances McCarthy.. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986..
What is a Feast? Pascal Lectures on Christianity and the University. Waterloo: North Waterloo Academic Press, 1987..
No One Could Have Known: an autobiography – the early years 1904-1945. Translated by Graham Harrison.. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1987..
In Defense of Philosophy: Classical wisdom stands up to modern challenges. Translated by Lothar Krauth. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1992.
, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1991.
, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1989. A translation of Josef Pieper: Lesebuch; second edition, Munich: Kösel-Verlag, 1984. First edition 1981.
The Concept of Sin, translated by Edward T. Oakes SJ, South Bend, Indiana: St. Augustine's Press.
