Owen Barfield

Arthur Owen Barfield ( born November 9, 1898 in London, † December 14, 1997 in Forest Row, District of Wealden ) was an English philosopher, linguist, lawyer and writer.

Life

Owen Barfield grew up as the son of a lawyer in Muswell Hill, a suburb of north London, on. After studying law and the English at the University of Oxford, he sought initially an academic career (his dissertation from 1922 was published in 1928 revised under the title Poetic Diction ), but took over in 1929, the law firm of his father, where he worked as a solicitor. In 1923 he married Maud Douie († 1980); they adopted two children.

In the early 1920s he met anthroposophy. Initially skeptical, he later translated several books by Rudolf Steiner and was active from 1937 to 1974 on the board of the Anthroposophical Society in England. Barfield has focused particularly on the study of the history of consciousness ( "evolution of consciousness" ), which he tried to capture in the mirror of language history. 1953 appeared as the first fruit of this decades-long studies History in English Words, which once was also thrilled with writers such as WH Auden readers. As Barfield's main work is considered Saving the Appearances of 1957. Many of his contributions but also appeared in magazines such as anthroposophic The Golden Blade. A collection of these smaller contributions would be desirable, because the journals are difficult to access and Barfield treated here issues which are rarely found in the books: this one about the national economy.

In 1960 he gave up the legal profession, and moved to Dartford. At universities in the U.S. and in Canada, he was over about two decades, guest lectures, which appeared in book form. After the death of his wife he moved to Forest Row in East Sussex, near the ( anthroposophical ) Emerson College.

He belonged to the group of Inklings and was particularly with CS Lewis - despite ideological differences - a close friend. Lewis dedicated his study The Allegory of Love (1936 ) with the words: "To Owen Barfield: wisest and best of my unofficial teachers".

Works

  • History in English Words. Methuen, London 1926; 3 revised. A. 1967
  • Poetic Diction. A Study in Meaning. Faber and Gwyer, London 1928; 3 A. Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, 1973 Reprint of the first edition as: Fundamentals of Poetry. Shubdi, Delhi 1999
  • German edition: Evolution - The path of consciousness. On the history of European thought. Weitz, Aachen, 1991, ISBN 3-925177-11-6
  • German edition: the speaker and his word. Verlag am Goetheanum, Dornach 1967; 2 A. ibid., 1985, ISBN 3-7235-0402-7

Children's Books

  • The Silver Trumpet. Faber and Gwyer, London 1925 ( new edition in preparation)
  • The child and the giant. An Orphic narrative. Free spiritual life, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-7725-1093-0

Literature ( a selection)

  • Markus Porsche -Ludwig, Fanfan Chen: Barfield, Owen. In: Biographic- bibliographic church encyclopedia ( BBKL ). Volume 32, Bautz, Nordhausen 2011, ISBN 978-3-88309-615-5, Sp 56-59. (Articles / Articles beginning possibly in the Internet Archive )
  • Gavin Ashenden: Charles Williams and Owen Barfield. In: Suzanne Bray, Richard Starch (ed.): Charles Williams and his Contemporaries. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne 2009, ISBN 978-1-4438-0565-0, pp. 54-68.
  • Robert Avens: Imagination is Reality. Western Nirvana in Jung, Hillman, Barfield and Cassirer. Spring Publications, Dallas 1980; Reprint ibid. 2003, ISBN 0-88214-311-5.
  • Simon Blaxland -de Lange: Owen Barfield. Romanticism Come of Age. A Biography. Temple Lodge Publishing, Forest Row, 2006 ISBN 1-902636-77-5.
  • Astrid Diener: The Role of Imagination in Culture and Society. Owen Barfield 's Early Work. Galda Wilch, Glienicke 2002, ISBN 3-931397-37-8.
  • Gareth Knight: The Magical World of Owen Barfield. Sun Chalice Books, Oceanside (CA ) 2002, ISBN 1-928754-10-4.
  • Albert Linderman: Why the World Around You Is not as It Appears. A Study of Owen Barfield. Lindisfarne Books, Great Barrington (MA) 2012, ISBN 978-1-58420-121-2.
  • R. J. Reilly: Romantic Religion. A Study of Owen Barfield, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams and J.R.R. Tolkien. Lindisfarne Books, Herndon ( VA) 2006, ISBN 1-58420-047-2.
  • Daniel J. Smitherman: Philosophy and the Evolution of Consciousness. Owen Barfield 's Saving the Appearances. To Excel / Kaleidoscope Sof, o.o. 2001, ISBN 0-595-17059-5.
  • Shirley Sugerman ( Eds.): Evolution of Consciousness. Studies in Polarity. Essays in Honor of Owen Barfield. Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, 1976; 2nd edition with a new preface, The Barfield Press 2008, ISBN 978-1-59731-116-8.
James Hillman Ernst Cassirer Integrated Authority File
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