This website presents articles on the relation between thought and life in philosophy and literature, thought being an author’s view on life in general and his or her own life specifically, and life the life and disposition of the author as it is found in writing (his/her own words or the testimony of others).

In the philosophical works I focus on, the authors present a view on the world and life that has an impact on how they live (and die). This effect can be found in their own work (as they themselves mention it), or in the descriptions others have given of them. Here the general view is shown to have personal consequences. In the work of the (philosophically minded) poets I studied it is the other way around. The poet starts with his or her own life and observations and thereby presents a view of life that has meaning for all. In both cases I address the intersection of world view/thought and experience/life. This point is often found at the edges of both: God, mysticism, the meaning of life, death. What ‘truth’ can arise there?

 

My name is Johanna Schakenraad. I studied philosophy and theology at Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands) and received my PhD at Utrecht University. I am an independent scholar in philosophy and work as a freelance writer, editor and teacher.

 

 

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