Ralph Waldo Emerson --(1803-1882), American writer, philosopher, and central figure of American transcendentalism. His poems, orations, and especially his essays, such as Nature (1836), are regarded as landmarks in the development of American thought and literary expression.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe --(1749-1832), German writer and scientist. A master of poetry, drama, and the novel, he spent 50 years on his two-part dramatic poem Faust. He also conducted scientific research in various fields, notably botany, and held several governmental positions.
Martin Heidegger --(1889-1976), German philosopher who maintained that authentic human existence belongs only to those who react with angst to the inherent emptiness of life. His works, including Being and Time, greatly influenced Sartre and other existentialists.
William James --(1842-1910), American psychologist and philosopher. A founder of pragmatism and the psychological movement of functionalism, he developed an approach to intellectual issues that greatly influenced American thought. His works include The Will to Believe and The Varieties of Religious Experience.
Karl Jaspers --(1883-1969), German psychiatrist, philosopher, and theologian. A founder of modern existentialism, he was concerned with human reactions to extreme situations. His works include Man and the Modern Age and Philosophy.
Franz Kafka --(1883-1924), Austrian writer whose stories, such as "The Metamorphosis", and novels, including The Trial and The Castle, concern troubled individuals in a nightmarishly impersonal world.
Soren Kierkegaard --(1813-1855), Danish religious philosopher. A precursor of modern existentialism, he insisted on the need for individual decision and leaps of faith in the search for religious truth, thereby contradicting Protestant dogma and Hegelianism. His works include Either/Or and Fear and Trembling.
