On Stilts over Reality
Thoughts from a Diary 1943-2015
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So much been talking about Sartre’s concept of Hell. Many ideas coming into my mind. Not just the ‘living’ continuously with open eyes – no eyelids – to be with people we are not willing to be with (Buddha: the six sufferings!). But I feel mainly not to have any significance anymore from our decisions. Or to be responsible anymore for what happens. So Hell seems to me that state in which everything is decided elsewhere and we just have to fulfil it. But what then might Heaven be? There too – and even more so – we have nothing to do but smile and say hallelujah. It has always seemed to me to be an inactive place; a place of satisfaction of having managed to be there… and no more hope to go further, because there is no further. That seems rather Hell in Heaven! But what could I imagine to be a satisfactory Heaven? I surely don’t know.
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About the Book
Ruth Troeller’s lifelong passion for philosophical inquiry has driven her to pursue and spread knowledge and wisdom, not only in the academic sphere. Inspired by the existentialist thought that flourished in postwar Europe and her meetings with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Gabriel Marcel and particularly André Malraux, she studied formally under Jaspers in Baal and Heidegger in Freiburg, and earned a degree in philosophy at the University of London. Her academic path strayed from that of philosophy due to her great dislike of the predominant current (logical positivism) being taught at the time, but although she went on to earn her higher degrees in Economics and dedicated much of her professional life to that area, her interest in philosophy never faded. The 72 years of diaries that this book covers bear witness to her unwavering commitment to reflecting continuously on philosophical questions, and the realization of this book is a testimony of her devotion as a teacher, since she not only wants to share her own thoughts with the world, but to inspire readers of all ages to pursue their own path of philosophical search, to dare to ask themselves important questions and seek the answers, to write and think consistently and contribute to the development of humanity.
About the Author
Ruth Troeller (born Kahn) was born in 1918. In 1940 she fled Luxembourg due to the German invasion, and traveled across Europe working in journalism, aiding refugees and becoming friends with literary figures like Sartre, Malraux and Marcel. She began studying philosophy under mentors such as Jaspers and Heidegger, and eventually earned a degree in philosophy, as well as a Masters and a Doctorate in Economics. She worked with several international financial institutions and the Central Banks of a few countries in the Americas. She taught philosophy and economics in several institutions for many years (and continues to do so). She is currently 97 years old and has lived in Mexico for the past 30 years.