num_pages: 384
description: Heller examines the sense of values embodied in the works of key German writers and thinkers from Goethe to Kafka, particularly the consciousness of life's depreciation.The Disinherited Mind has been in continuous demand since 1st publication in '52, recognized as a work whose significance extends far beyond the subject of German letters. Noted critic &amp; poet Edwin Muir has written: "The condition it describes is our condition, &amp; I can think of no other modem book in which it is described so clearly." The unifying theme is the sense of values embodied in the works of key German poets, writers &amp; thinkers from Goethe to Kafka, particularly the consciousness of life's deprecation. While earlier poets &amp; philosophers were preoccupied with the marvelous, Prof. Heller writes, their modem successors try desperately to ward off "the predominance of the prosaic." He deals with this problem most directly in the central essay, "Rilke &amp; Nietzsche." Other essays discuss Goethe's Faust, his opposition to Newtonian science, Burckhardt's philosophy of history, Kafka's The Castle, Spengler's historical imagination &amp; Karl Kraus's satire.AcknowledgmentsPreface to the Original EditionPreface to the American EditionGoethe &amp; the idea of scientific truthGoethe &amp; the avoidance of tragedyBurckhardt &amp; NietzscheNietzsche &amp; GoetheRilke &amp; Nietzsche with a discourse on thought, belief &amp; poetryOswald Spengler &amp; the predicament of the historical imaginationThe world of Franz KafkaKarl Kraus: The last days of mankindThe hazard of modern poetryReferences
language: English
title: The Disinherited Mind: Essays in Modern German Literature and Thought
titlecomplete: The Disinherited Mind: Essays in Modern German Literature and Thought
genres: Germany, Criticism, Literary Criticism, Essays, German Literature, Nonfiction, Philosophy, History
ratings_count: 43
publisher: Harper Perennial