World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Günther Anders

ギュンター・アンデルス

Guenther Anders

Pen Names: Günther Siegmund Stern (birth name)（Birth name. Later adopted the pen name 'Anders', which became his public name.）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1902-07-12 （Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland)）
Died
1992-12-17 （Vienna, Austria） age 90
Nationality
German, Austrian
Languages
German, English
Religion
Atheist / non-religious
Residence History
Breslau (birthplace) → Freiburg (studies; PhD) → Berlin (journalistic work) → Paris (early exile) → New York / California (exile in the United States) → Vienna (returned to Europe; later life)

Career

Occupations
Philosopher, Journalist, Essayist, Critical theorist, Anti-nuclear activist, Lecturer
Active Years
1923-1992
Affiliations
The New School for Social Research (lecturer)
Influenced By
Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, William Stern (father)
Influenced
Some members / thinkers associated with the Frankfurt School, Joseph Vogl (recipient of Günther Anders Prize), Dietmar Dath (recipient of Günther Anders Prize), Corine Pelluchon (recipient of Günther Anders Prize), Gerhard Oberschlick (literary executor; public intellectual)

Education

University of Freiburg
Faculty of Philosophy / Department of Philosophy
Degree: 博士 (PhD)
Period: 1920年代（1923年博士取得）
Year of Graduation: 1923
Country: Germany
Received his doctorate under Edmund Husserl.

Awards

Premio Omegna della Resistenza Italiana (Omegna Award of the Italian Resistance)
1962
Organization: Premio Omegna
Result: 受賞
Deutscher Kritikerpreis (German Critics' Prize)
1967
Organization: Association of German Critics
Result: 受賞
Grand Literature Prize of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts
1978
Organization: Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts
Result: 受賞
Austrian State Prize for Cultural Journalism
1979
Organization: Austrian state / cultural institutions
Result: 受賞
Theodor W. Adorno Award
1983
Organization: Theodor W. Adorno Award committee
Result: 受賞
Andreas Gryphius Prize
1985
Organization: Andreas Gryphius Prize committee
Result: 辞退
Honorary doctorate (University of Vienna)
1992
Organization: University of Vienna
Result: 辞退
Sigmund Freud Prize
1992
Organization: Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Outdatedness of Human Beings, Vol. I: On the Soul in the Era of the Second Industrial Revolution

1956 Philosophy / Social criticism

A collection of essays arguing that humanity's technological capacities have outpaced our imagination and moral faculties (introducing concepts like Promethean shame). Includes critique of television and mass media.

Promethean shamecritique of technologynuclear threatmedia theory
Translations
  • Portions and selected essays have been translated into English, French and Spanish.

The Outdatedness of Human Beings, Vol. II: On the Destruction of Life in the Era of the Third Industrial Revolution

1980 Philosophy / Social criticism

Further development of the gap between destructive technological capacity and human ability to imagine its consequences; ethical reflections on nuclear weapons and mass destruction.

nuclear destructionmoral imaginationtechnology and humanity
Translations
  • Volume II has been partially translated; full translations are limited.

The Man on the Bridge: Diary from Hiroshima and Nagasaki

1959 Essay / Diary

Diary-style record based on visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, probing the catastrophe of nuclear warfare from on-site perspectives.

Hiroshima and Nagasakimemory of the bombanti-nuclear

Kafka Pro und Contra: The Trial Records

1951 Literary criticism

A critical work compiling essays and materials on Franz Kafka, demonstrating Anders' engagement with Kafka studies.

Kafkaliterary criticism

The Molussian Catacomb (Die molussische Katakombe)

1938 Novel (dystopia / political fiction)

A novel set in an underground prison depicting totalitarian brainwashing techniques; written 1931–1933 and published postwar.

totalitarianismbrainwashingprison

Der Hungermarsch (The Hunger March)

1935 Novel / Social criticism

A work set against social and political circumstances; one of his early prose pieces.

social criticismpoverty

Bibliography

  • Der Hungermarsch (1935)
  • Kafka Pro und Contra: The Trial Records (1951)
  • Die Antiquiertheit des Menschen, Vol. I (1956)
  • Die Antiquiertheit des Menschen, Vol. II (1980)
  • The Man on the Bridge: Diary from Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1959)
  • Die molussische Katakombe (written 1931–1933; published 1992)
  • Tagesnotizen: Records 1941–1979 (anthology, 2006)
  • Various essays, diaries, correspondence collections, etc.

Style & Themes

Literary Style
occasional/essayistic formphenomenological observationanalysis resembling critical theory
Recurring Motifs
Promethean shamediscrepancy between technology and humanitynuclear threat and self-destructionphantom world of mass mediamemory and ethics of the Holocaust

Legacy

Günther Anders was a philosopher sharply critical of the gap between technology and humanity, known for his analyses of Promethean shame and the nuclear threat. Widely read in Europe, he influenced anti-nuclear activism and media criticism; his major works are especially respected in the German-speaking world.

Academic Societies

  • International Günther Anders Society (Günther Anders Gesellschaft)

Archives

  • University of Vienna (papers of Günther Anders)
  • Austrian National Library (related holdings)

Quotes

  • The shame at the 'embarrassingly' high quality of manufactured goods — being ashamed that we were born and not manufactured.
    Source: The Outdatedness of Human Beings, Vol. I (1956) (1956)

Trivia

  • Born Günther Siegmund Stern; later changed his name to Anders (reportedly in part because an editor did not want many Jewish-sounding bylines).
  • First married to Hannah Arendt (1929–1937).
  • Fled Nazism, lived in France and later the United States during exile.
  • Received the Sigmund Freud Prize shortly before his death (1992).
  • Declined some honors, including the Andreas Gryphius Prize and an honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna.