Max Stirner
Max Stirner
Full Name and Common Aliases
Max Stirner was born Johann Kaspar Schmidt on October 25, 1806, in Bayreuth, Kingdom of Bavaria. He is commonly known by his pseudonym, Max Stirner.
Birth and Death Dates
October 25, 1806 – June 26, 1856
Nationality and Profession(s)
German philosopher, writer, and critic
Early Life and Background
Max Stirner was born to a family of modest means. His father worked as a bookseller, which exposed young Max to various philosophical ideas from an early age. Stirner's education took place in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars, with some interruptions due to economic hardship. He eventually studied philosophy at the University of Berlin but did not graduate.
Major Accomplishments
Stirner made significant contributions to individualist anarchism and egoism through his critiques of traditional morality and societal norms. His work challenged the idea that individuals should sacrifice their own interests for the benefit of others or society as a whole.
Notable Works or Actions
His most notable work, "The Ego and Its Own," published in 1845, outlines Stirner's philosophy and critiques various aspects of society, including traditional morality, religion, and politics. This work laid the foundation for individualist anarchism and had a lasting impact on subsequent philosophical thought.
Impact and Legacy
Stirner's ideas have influenced numerous thinkers, including Friedrich Nietzsche, who drew upon his concepts in developing his own philosophy. Stirner's critiques of societal norms and traditional morality also resonated with various other philosophers and writers throughout history.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Max Stirner is widely quoted for his groundbreaking philosophical ideas that challenged the status quo. His emphasis on individual freedom, self-interest, and the rejection of external authority has made him a significant figure in the development of modern thought.
Quotes by Max Stirner
Max Stirner's insights on:
Yes, yes, children must early be made to practise piety, godliness, and propriety; a person of good breeding is one into whom 'good maxims' have been instilled and impressed, poured in through a funnel, thrashed in and preached in.
Christianity has aimed to deliver us from a life determined by nature, from the appetites as actuating us, and so has meant that man should not let himself be determined by appetites.
The divine is God's concern; the human, man's. My concern is neither the divine nor the human, not the true, good, just, free, etc., but solely what is 'mine,' and it is not a general one, but is - 'unique,' as I am unique. Nothing is more to me than myself!
What else was Diogenes of Sinope seeking for than the true enjoyment of life, which he discovered in having the least possible wants?
When one is anxious only to live, he easily, in this solicitude, forgets the enjoyment of life. If his only concern is for life, and he thinks “if I only have my dear life,” he does not apply his full strength to using, i. e., enjoying, life.
I do not step shyly back from your property, but look upon it always as my property, in which I respect nothing. Pray do the like with what you call my property!