Johann Kaspar Schmidt (October 25, 1806 – June 26, 1856), better known as Max Stirner (the nom de plume he adopted from a schoolyard nickname he had acquired as a child because of his high brow *), German philosopher, who ranks as one of the literary grandfathers of nihilism, existentialism and anarchism, especially of individualist anarchism. Stirner himself explicitly denied holding any absolute position in his philosophy, further stating that if he must be identified with some "-ism" let it be egoism — the antithesis of all ideologies and social causes, as he conceived of it.
Stirner's main work is The Ego and Its Own, also known as The Ego and His Own (Der Einzige und sein Eigentum in German), which was first published in Leipzig, 1844, and has since appeared in numerous editions and translations.
Egoism :: 19th Century
Anarchism :: Politics
Anarcho Capitalism :: Libertarianism

A Durable Dissident - Article by Bernd A. Laska contending that the proper time for Stirner's philosophy is finally at hand.
Meta Description: [ Stirner's role in enlightenment thinking as antipode of Marx and Nietzsche ]
Egoist Archive: Max Stirner - An archive of books and articles in the tradition of Max Stirner, including English, German and Italian texts of Stirner's works.
Meta Description: [ An archive of egoist philosophy
by and about Max Stirner. Includes the major works of Stirner which have
been translated into english, german versions of the lesser works,
and commentaries on Stirner. ]
Max Stirner - Includes biography, outline of Stirner's philosophy, assorted reviews of Stirner's philosophy and links to related sites.
Omar Khayyam and Max Stirner - Article by H. Ibrahim Turkdogan, using his personal experience with the writings of Khayyam and Stirner to build a bridge between Eastern and Western thought.
Philosophical Egoism: Max Stirner - Chapter from a book by Andrew Carlson about German anarchism. Treats Stirner as a precursor of this movement.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Max Stirner - Article by David Leopold. Concisely reviews the life, work and Egoistic philosophy of this thinker.
The Ego and His Own - The 1907 Byingdon translation of this seminal 1844 tract by Stirner.
Works by Max Stirner - Includes The Ego and His Own. From the site of the Anarchist Library.
Meta Description: [ Max Stirner ]
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