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Eisner, Kurt

(Encyclopedia)Eisner, Kurt ko͝ortˈ īsˈnər [key], 1867–1919, German socialist. He studied at the Friedrich Wilhelm Univ. in Berlin and edited several leading socialist newspapers. In 1917 he joined the newly ...

hermeneutics

(Encyclopedia)hermeneutics, the theory and practice of interpretation. During the Reformation hermeneutics came into being as a special discipline concerned with biblical criticism. The Protestant theologian Friedr...

Weimar

(Encyclopedia)Weimar vīˈmär [key], city (1994 pop. 58,807), E Thuringia, central Germany, on the Ilm River. It is an industrial, transportation, and cultural center. Manufactures include agricultural machinery, ...

Schopenhauer, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Schopenhauer, Arthur ärˈto͝or shōˈpənhouˌər [key], 1788–1860, German philosopher, b. Danzig (now Gdansk). The bias of his own temperament and experience was germinal to the development of hi...

Kazantzakis, Nikos

(Encyclopedia)Kazantzakis, Nikos nēˈkôs käˌzändzäˈkēs [key], 1883?–1957, Greek writer, b. Crete. After obtaining a law degree he studied philosophy under Henri Bergson in Paris and traveled widely in Eur...

Bataille, Georges

(Encyclopedia)Bataille, Georges jôrj bətī, –bätī [key], 1897–1962, French writer. Bataille was the founding editor of the journal Critique (1946). Strongly influenced by Nietzsche, he focuses on extreme st...

Ekelund, Vilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Ekelund, Vilhelm vĭlˈəlm āˈkəlŭndˌ [key], 1880–1949, Swedish essayist and poet. Ekelund's writings were influenced by the works of Nietzsche, Hölderlin, and Swedenborg. After publication of...

cerium

(Encyclopedia)cerium sērˈēəm [key] [from the asteroid Ceres], metallic chemical element; symbol Ce; at. no. 58; at. wt. 140.116; m.p. 799℃; b.p. 3,426℃; sp. gr. 6.77 at 25℃; valence +3 or +4. Cerium is a ...

existentialism

(Encyclopedia)existentialism ĕgzĭstĕnˈshəlĭzəm, ĕksĭ– [key], any of several philosophic systems, all centered on the individual and his relationship to the universe or to God. Important existentialists o...

Klinger, Max

(Encyclopedia)Klinger, Max klĭngˈər [key], 1857–1920, German painter, sculptor, and etcher. Before 1886 he produced cycles of original and somewhat morbidly imaginative etchings, such as Deliverances of Sacri...