Product Description
One of the most independent thinkers in German intellectual history, the Enlightenment author Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) contributed in decisive and lasting fashion to literature, philosophy, theology, criticism, and drama theory. As a playwright, Lessing invented a new German dramatic genre, the bourgeois tragedy or bürgerliches Trauerspiel, and wrote one of the first successful German tragedies, Miß Sara Sampson, as well as one of the finest German comedies, Minna von Barnhelm. In his final dramatic masterpiece, Nathan der Weise (Nathan the Wise, 1779), he writes of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, of religious tolerance and intolerance and the clash of civilizations. Lessing's dramas are the oldest German theater pieces still performed regularly on German and international stages. Both his plays and his drama theory have influenced such writers as Goethe, Schiller, Hebbel, Hauptmann, Ibsen, Strindberg, Schnitzler, and Brecht.Addressing an audience ranging from graduate students to seasoned scholars, this volume introduces Lessing's life and times and places him within the broader context of the European Enlightenment. It discusses his pathbreaking dramas, his equally revolutionary theoretical, critical, and aesthetic writings, his original fables, his innovative work in philosophy and theology, and his significant contributions to Jewish emancipation. The volume concludes by examining the reception of Lessing and his oeuvre in Nazi Germany, in the former East and West Germanys, and in contemporary critical theory.
Contributors: Barbara Fischer, Thomas C. Fox, Steven D. Martinson, Klaus L. Berghahn, John Pizer, Beate Allert, H. B. Nisbet, Arno Schilson, Willi Goetschel, Peter Höyng, Karin A. Wurst, Ann Schmiesing, Reinhart Meyer, Hans-Joachim Kertscher, Hinrich C. Seeba, Dieter Fratzke, Helmut Berthold, Herbert Rowland.Barbara Fischer is associate professor of German and Thomas C. Fox is professor of German, both at the University of Alabama. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of worlds masterpieces
"Nathan the Wise" is one of the greatest and wisest dramas I ever read, not only the picturesque and interesting backround but also the wise, idealistic and forwardlooking image that the author produces makesthe drama worth being read by everybody. Lessing wrote this dramatwo-hundred years ago and that fact makes it even more interesting to seethe message that it tries to spread, because in our-days-world the demandfor humanity and tolerance is more important than ever. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Thoughtfull, touching, entertaining, classical literature
I first read this book (actually it is a play) in highschool and though I generally hated to be forced to read a book I really loved this one. I finished way ahead of schedule.

The reason: this book is extremely verywell and has an up-to-date message even though it was written several 100years back. The story is abou a Jewish merchant called Nathan, a templarand Nathan's daughter and the love between the templar and the daughter andthe conflicts arising from it.

It is set in the time of the crusades andits message is: it does not matter which religion you believe in as long asyou are a decent human being. This message was only written in a playbecause the author was officially forbidden from teaching hisreconciliatory views on religion in university! It must have been ahardship for him, but today we can enjoy a literary masterpiece for justthat reason. For me it is a perfect book and it might very well be the samefor you. ... Read more

Book Description
Gerard VallŽe has collected in this volume some "soundings" on the diverse, often paradoxical, philosophical writings of Gotthold Ephrain Lessing. Rather than pigeonhole Lessing into a single school of thought, VallŽe has involved himself in a dialogue with his questionings. The six essays are focused on the philosophy of religion contained in his works, although the term "philosophy of religion" had not yet come into popular use while Lessing was writing. A fresh approach, accessible for readers new to Lessing as well as serious scholars, "Soundings in G.E. Lessing's Philosophy of Religion" will be of interest to philosophers and students of religion. ... Read more

Book Description
Lessing's Spinozism looms up out of the numerous intellectual riddles of the past. Almost everything has been tried in an effort to sound and weigh the exact amount of Spinozism Lessing betrayed in his conversations with Jacobi. This volume contains in translation the main writings relative to the famous "pantheism debate" between Jacobi and Mendelssohn, which was prompted by Jacobi's revelation of the Spinozist leanings of the late Lessing. The Introduction provides the context of the debate and draws upon recent studies of "Lessing's Spinozism" in an attempt to unravel the murky question of Lessing's philosophical legacy. Co-published with McMaster University ... Read more

Book Description
This essay collection grew out of a Hofstra University conference on the life, works, and influence of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, the eighteenth-century German playwright, critic, and philosopher who essentially established a new national literature in Germany during the Enlightenment. The volume is divided into two main sections, in which various scholars confront and reevaluate two contrasting aspects of Lessing's character; the irrational poet and the rational thinker. In the first section, Lessing's aesthetics are discussed. His link to English literature, as well as his influence upon the then emerging novel, are the subject of special consideration here. In the second section, Lessing's philosophical connection to traditions such as utopianism, classical republicanism, and eighteen-century humanism is discussed. Also considered are Lessing's intellectual connections with Rumanian literature; feminist and other ideological interpretations of his works; and his relation to some of his contemporaries. An introductory article stresses current and future trends in Lessing scholarhip. ... Read more

Book Description
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-81) stands as a key figure in German intellectual history, a bridge joining Luther, Leibniz, and German idealism. Despite his well-recognized importance in the history of thought, Lessing as theologian or philosopher of religion remains an enigmatic figure. Scholars refer to the "riddle" or "mystery" of Lessing, a mystery that has proved intractable because of his reticence on the subject of the final conclusions of his intellectual project. Toshimasa Yasukata seeks to unravel this mystery. Based on intensive study of the entire corpus of Lessing's philosophical and theological writings as well as the extensive secondary literature, Yasukata's work takes us into the systematic core of Lessing's thought. From his penetrating and sophisticated analysis of Lessing's developing position on Christianity and reason, there emerges a fresh image of Lessing as a creative modern mind, who is both shaped by and gives shape to the Christian heritage.The first comprehensive study in English of Lessing's theological and philosophical thought, this book will appeal to all those interested in the history of modern theology, as well as specialists in the Enlightenment and the German romantic movement. ... Read more

Book Description
The Passions of Rhetoric reveals Lessing's contributionto the history of rhetoric and his participation in the long-standingdebate between philosophy and rhetoric. - Attempts a reassessment ofthe importance of rhetoric to argumentation in the 18th century. -Establishes that Lessing developed his own views on rhetoric andargumentation and that these views were opposed to the anti-rhetoricalposition of other 18th century intellectuals, including Kant. - Thefew treatments of Lessing's polemical writings that have appeared inthe last few years concentrate on the practice of rhetoric and not onLessing's own views on language and argument. Moore's work, on theother hand, combines both an interest in style of argument and thephilosophy which informs it, a rich tradition going back to theancient Greeks.
The book is required reading for students of European rhetoric, 18thcentury German critical writing, 18th century polemics on theatre andtheology. All quotations in German have been translated into Englishto inform a wider audience. ... Read more