Ninety Years Later, Max Scheler’s Eerie Prophesy Is More Accurate Than Ever
A philosopher foresaw our current era of social reactionism
I am not fond of cynics, but I have a soft spot for those who are optimistic about humanity’s potential and who are thus disappointed when people do so little with their potential. Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche fit into that category, but Max Scheler (1874–1928) fits even more so.
Few philosophers have more fully embraced the reality of individual emotions than Max Scheler did with his life philosophy. He wrote about his belief in the power of love and solidarity to build communities of mutual respect. He prized individualism and the value of respect for other individuals and their unique perspectives and experiences.
I wrote in my textbook entry on Scheler:
The bottom line for Scheler’s thought is that our salvation as persons lies not in the attitude of indifference toward suffering but in acknowledging pain in ourselves and in others and sympathizing with it. Sympathy and empathy for others are positive values that bring us together as a community. Scheler says that the deepest and most profound level of community is when each one of us takes responsibility for our own actions and responsibility for others. We feel a sense of…
