German philosophy in English?
Just wondering if German Philosophy could be studied effectively in English translated books.
Or would it be better or is it must to take up German language, learn it, and read Kant and Hegel etc in German?
It looks like it will take too long time to be on the level of reading German philosophy books, if one has to learn the language.
But if English translated books are plenty and good enough, maybe it would be OK to just read them in English?
Or would it be better or is it must to take up German language, learn it, and read Kant and Hegel etc in German?
It looks like it will take too long time to be on the level of reading German philosophy books, if one has to learn the language.
But if English translated books are plenty and good enough, maybe it would be OK to just read them in English?
Comments (6)
As a dual citizen of Germany and America, and therefore bilingual speaker of German and English:
-Some German texts are actually easier to understand in English. Not because German is such a tough language, but because some (Kant especially) liked writing these unending sentences that are hard to follow. They would be considered run-on in English and so are broken into more digestible chunks in the translation. I love the German language, but I do not love Kant's German.
-Although translations are for the most part accurate, they can (at times) fail to fully convey all the meanings of an important word.
-Although most translators of such texts are academics themselves, they can sometimes (rarely, but it happens) misunderstand a concept and thus mistranslate it slightly.
I would never dissuade someone from learning a new language. However, in the meantime (since proficiency at the philosophical level would take years), you may just want to read the translations and perhaps supplement with some good critiques that can clarify word usage.
In fact, I was even wondering if I had to learn Greek too, because recently I was reading Iamblicus, and in that book, the author was using a lot of Greek words in Greek alphabet. I couldn't read them, and felt very limited and frustrated at the time.
So at an intro level, or even just undergrad level, you're fine. At a doctorate level you'd want to learn the language, but you're talking some odd 4-8 (sometimes 12) years of commitment there.
Since you mentioned Kant I'll note that I think Werner Pluhar's translations are on point. It comes with a particular interpretation of Kant, of course (as would be necessary with any translation) -- but he's the translation I read for clarity and an excellent index.