Alice von Hildebrand
Belgian-American philosopher (1923–2022)
Alice von Hildebrand
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Born |
Alice Marie Jourdain
( 1923-03-11 ) 11 March 1923
Brussels
, Belgium
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Died |
14 January 2022
(2022-01-14)
(aged
98)
New Rochelle, New York
, U.S.
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Alma mater | |
Occupation(s) | Philosopher, theologian, professor, author |
Employer | Hunter College |
Spouse |
Alice Marie von Hildebrand , GCSG [1] (née Jourdain ; 11 March 1923 – 14 January 2022) was a Belgian-born American Catholic philosopher, theologian, author, and professor. She taught philosophy at Hunter College for 37 years. She was also the second wife of Dietrich von Hildebrand .
Early life
Von Hildebrand was born Alice Marie Jourdain to Henri and Marthe (van der Horst) Jourdain in Brussels , Belgium, on 11 March 1923. [1] [2] [3] Her first language was French. She left her home country in 1940, shortly after it was invaded by Germany , and relocated to the United States as a refugee. [4] She initially attended Manhattanville College , [4] before studying philosophy at Fordham University , [2] where she obtained a doctorate in 1949. [4]
Career
Von Hildebrand struggled to find employment in academia. She was rejected by Catholic colleges, who informed her that they did not employ women to teach philosophy. [4] She eventually started teaching at Hunter College – a constituent college of the City University of New York – in 1947. [1] She utilized her maiden name due to the hostility endured by her husband. She only received academic tenure after 14 years of teaching. [2] Despite being advised by the college president (and fellow Catholic) George N. Shuster that she would be more content teaching at a Catholic institution, she was of the opinion that it was essential for a Catholic to be present at a secular educational institution. She ultimately remained at Hunter College for 37 years. She attributed the conversion of many of her students to Catholicism with her teaching of objective truth . [4] [5]
Von Hildebrand retired early in 1984, [1] having grown weary of being issued a teaching schedule that concluded at 10 pm. [2] She was subsequently conferred the Presidential Award for excellence in teaching by the college. [4] [5] Von Hildebrand made more than 80 appearances on EWTN television programming. [1] She launched the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project in 2004 with some of her husband's former students. [1] Her works include The Soul of a Lion: The Life of Dietrich von Hildebrand (2000), a biography of her husband, [6] and her autobiography, Memoirs of a Happy Failure (2014), which recounts her escape from Nazi Europe and her teaching career at Hunter College. [7]
Views
Von Hildebrand criticized what she considered to be the advance of relativism [7] and modernism in the Catholic Church , [2] particularly within its institutions of Catholic higher education and its Catholic schools . Hildebrand held conservative Catholic views on homosexuality, saying that it "constitutes a grave offense to God and brings great moral harm to the persons engaging in it", and arguing that those with "homosexual tendencies" should practice celibacy. [8] She was also an outspoken critic of feminism. [9]
Personal life
Von Hildebrand married Catholic philosopher and theologian Dietrich von Hildebrand in 1959, two years after his first wife died. They first met at Fordham University, where she was a student and he was a professor. She later worked as his secretary and collaborated with him on authoring books, [1] [2] such as The Art of Living . [4] They did not have children together, [4] and remained married until his death in 1977. [10]
Von Hildebrand was created a Dame of Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great , a papal order of knighthood, in October 2013. [11] She died on 14 January 2022 at her home in New Rochelle , New York . She was 98, and suffered a brief illness prior to her death. [4] [5]
Bibliography
- Greek Culture, the Adventure of the Human Spirit , editor (G. Braziller, 1966) ISBN 978-0-8076-0366-6
- Introduction to a Philosophy of Religion (Franciscan Herald Press, 1970) [12]
- By Love Refined: Letters to a Young Bride (Sophia Institute Press, 1989) ISBN 978-1-62282-889-0
- Women and the Priesthood (Franciscan University Press, 1994) ISBN 978-0-940535-72-5
- By Grief Refined: Letters to a Widow (Franciscan University Press, 1994) ISBN 978-0-940535-75-6
- Memoiren und Aufsätze gegen den Nationalsozialismus, 1933–1938 , with Dietrich von Hildebrand and Rudolf Ebneth, ( Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag , 1994) ISBN 978-3-7867-1737-9
- Soul of a Lion: Dietrich Von Hildebrand; A Biography (Ignatius Press, 2000) ISBN 978-0-89870-801-1
- The Privilege of Being a Woman (Veritas Press, 2002) ISBN 978-0-9706106-7-6
- Man and Woman: A Divine Invention (Ignatius Press, 2010) ISBN 978-1-932589-56-6
- Memoirs of a Happy Failure , with John Henry Crosby (Saint Benedict Press, 2014) ISBN 978-1-618901-26-2
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Alice von Hildebrand" . Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019 . Retrieved 14 April 2018 .
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cook, Kimberly (15 January 2022). "True Femininity: An Interview with Alice von Hildebrand" . Crisis . Archived from the original on 5 March 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
- ↑ Risen, Clay (5 March 2022). "Alice von Hildebrand, Conservative Catholic Philosopher, Dies at 98" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 5 March 2022 .
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Burger, John (14 January 2022). "Alice von Hildebrand, Catholic philosopher and critic of moral relativism, dies at 98" . Aleteia . Archived from the original on 14 January 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
- 1 2 3 Olivera, Kate (14 January 2022). "A joyful, faithful 'warrior': Catholic philosopher, author Alice von Hildebrand dies at 98" . EWTN. Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
- ↑ von Hildebrand, Alice (2000). The Soul of a Lion: Dietrich Von Hildebrand – a Biography . Ignatius Press. ISBN 978-0-89870-801-1 . Archived from the original on 18 January 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
- 1 2 Hildebrand, Alice von; Crosby, John Henry (2014). Memoirs of a Happy Failure . Saint Benedictine Press. ISBN 978-1-61890-126-2 . Archived from the original on 3 September 2019 . Retrieved 14 April 2018 .
- ↑ "True Compassion for the Person with Homosexual" . Alice von Hildebrand . Retrieved 11 May 2023 .
- ↑ Graves, Jim (27 September 2020). "Alice von Hildebrand on the Lost Sense of the Supernatural and Feminism" . National Catholic Register . Archived from the original on 18 January 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
- ↑ Salai, Sean (22 October 2014). "The Philosopher Who Defied Hitler: Q&A with Alice von Hildebrand" . America . Archived from the original on 18 January 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
- ↑ "Pope names Alice von Hildebrand to prestigious order" . Catholic News Agency . 6 November 2013. Archived from the original on 23 March 2020 . Retrieved 23 March 2020 .
- ↑ von Hildebrand, Alice (1970). Introduction to a Philosophy of Religion . Franciscan Herald Press. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022 . Retrieved 18 January 2022 .
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- https://www.alicevonhildebrand.org Alice von Hildebrand website, managed by the Hildebrand Project
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