transcript
show notes
Max Picard (1888–1965) was a Swiss-German philosopher, physician, and mystic whose profound vision and work speaks with extraordinary force to our increasingly noisy and distracted age —yet whose voice seems more necessary now than ever.
Born in Schopfheim, Germany, near the Swiss border, to Jewish parents, Picard trained as a physician before abandoning medicine in 1918. Increasingly disenchanted with the mechanistic direction of modern science, he turned away from clinical life and withdrew to the quiet landscapes of southern Switzerland, settling in Caslano and neighbouring villages, where he devoted himself to contemplative writing and exploring silence, solitude, presence, and the sacred power of the human word. In 1939, Picard converted to Roman Catholicism from the Judaism of his youth.
A deeply original thinker, his life and work were marked by an uncompromising simplicity and inwardness. He deliberately avoided academic institutions, intellectual fashion, and public prominence, yet maintained friendships and correspondence with some of the most perceptive minds of the twentieth century, including Hermann Hesse, Gabriel Marcel, Gaston Bachelard, and Rainer Maria Rilke.
🙏 May whatever goodness arises from these readings/offerings be for the benefit of all sentient beings.
🔆 These podcasts are not monetized. If you benefit from these podcasts and would like to support our nun's hermitage, there are two options to donate - via Paypal using this email address: vivekahermitage@gmail.com with PayPal or using this direct link: https://paypal.me/VivekaHermitage
or we have a WISE account with the above email address or using the direct link if you have a WISE account: https://wise.com/pay/me/margarets448
