Simon Vestdijk en de levensfilosofie

Abstract

Abstract Simon Vestdijk and Life-philosophy This article questions the philosophical themes in de work of one the most influential and prolific writers in Dutch literary history, Simon Vestdijk (1898-1971). Vestdijk was heavily engaged with European life-philosophical ideas, which were at their height in de period 1900-1930. Essentially, these ideas were a critique of positivist epistemology. They postulate that consciousness is an organic part of life in full. The article analyses the ways in which typical life-philosophical notions such as ‘intuition’, ‘rigidity’ or ‘interdisciplinarity’ have shaped the writings of Vestdijk. The perspective of life-philosophy adds to an understanding of the unity in the diverse and extensive oeuvre of Vestdijk. More generally, it points to the significant influence of this philosophical current in the Dutch literary climate between the wars.