First edition of this ‘classic of anarchist literature’ (Kolakowski), by Max Stirner (pseudonym for Johann Kaspar Schmidt, 1806–1856). From 1826 to 1828, Stirner studied philosophy at the University of Berlin, where he was greatly influenced by Hegel. The stimulus for the present work was provided by Stirner’s association with a group of young Hegelians known as ‘Die Freien’, who met under the leadership of Bruno and Edgar Bauer.
‘Der Einzige und sein Eigenthum [The Ego and His Own], a treatise in defense of philosophic egoism, carried to its extreme the young Hegelian reaction against Hegel’s teachings. In part it was a bitter attack on contemporary philosophers, particularly those with social inclinations ... Stirner’s approach was characterized by a passionate anti-intellectualism which led him to stress the will and the instincts as opposed to the reason. He attacked systematic philosophies of every kind, denied all absolutes, and rejected abstract and generalized concepts of every kind. At the center of his vision he placed the human individual, of whom alone we have certain knowledge; each individual, he contended, is unique, and this uniqueness is the very quality he must cultivate to give meaning to life. Hence, he reached the conclusion that the ego is a law unto itself and that the individual owes no obligations outside himself’ (Encyclopedia of Philosophy; see Leszek Kolakowski, Main Currents of Marxism ... I. The Founders, p. 163ff).
Nettlau, p. 35; Ziegenfuss II, 642; cf. Stammhammer, Bibliographie des Sozialismus II, 317 (1893 edition).
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