On the thoughts and ideas of Hugo Ball during his stay in Zurich 1915-1917

Student thesis from 2005 in the Department of Literary Studies – Modern Literature, Level: none, , Language: German, Summary: In my work I would like to deal with the thoughts and ideas of Hugo Ball while he lived in Zurich in 1915 and 1917. I focus in particular on the religious and mystical methods that lived there throughout his life and into this world of orthodox Catholicism and the ancient mysteries he returned into an ascetic lifestyle, away from the public and in poverty. Mysticism refers to direct knowledge of divine truth that transcends everyday awareness and intellectual knowledge. A mystic strives to separate himself from the world and rise to the divine through asceticism and meditation to return to his divine origin (circular thinking). In what it reveals, mysticism is socio-culturally and historically embedded in religious traditions, belief systems and communities. To write my work, I am using Ball’s Thought Book: The Escape from Time and I will explain the themes in his applications from 1915 and 1917 that I consider important. In doing so, I ask about the reasons and ways of thinking that might lead a person with such diverse interests and opinions to find their answers in religion at the end.

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