For distinguished philosopher Hans Blumenberg, lions were a life-long obsession. Lions, translated by Kari Driscoll, collects thirty-two of Blumenberg's philosophical vignettes to reveal that the figure of the lion unites two of his other great preoccupations: metaphors and anecdotes as non-philosophical forms of knowledge. Each of these short texts, sparkling with erudition and humor, is devoted to a peculiar leonine presence or, in many cases, absence in literature, art, philosophy, religion, and politics. From Ecclesiastes to the New Testament Apocrypha, Durer to Henri Rousseau, Aesop and La Fontaine to Rilke and Thomas Mann, the extraordinary breadth of Blumenberg's knowledge and intellectual curiosity is on full display. Lions has much to offer readers, both those already familiar with Blumenberg's oeuvre and newcomers looking for an introduction to the thought of one of Germany's most important postwar philosophers.

About the Author
Hans Blumenberg (1920 96) was a German philosopher and intellectual historian. During his lifetime he was a member of the Senate of the German Research Foundation, a professor at several universities in Germany, and cofounder of the research group Poetics and Hermeneutics. Kari Driscoll is lecturer in comparative literature at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. In 2011 he was awarded the inaugural Gutekunst Prize for Young Translators.


Book Information
ISBN 9780857424303
Author Hans Blumenberg
Format Hardback
Page Count 104
Imprint Seagull Books London Ltd
Publisher Seagull Books London Ltd
Weight(grams) 255g
Dimensions(mm) 21mm * 15mm * 2mm