Emanuel Swedenborg
Stockholm 1688 - London 1772
Swedish naturalist and philosopher, he is especially known for his numerous theological writings proposing a reinterpretation of Biblical texts. His studies had a broad philosophical, literary and artistic influence in the 19th and 20th centuries and are a significant basis for understanding the new forms of contemporary religiousness.
Main works: Opera Philosophica et Mineralia (1734); Oeconomia Regni Animalis (1740); Regnum Animale (1744-1745); De Cultu Et Amore Dei (1745); Arcana Caelestia (1749-1756); De Coelo et ejus mirabilibus (1758); Vera Christiana Religio (1771).
Bibliography: A.J. Matter, Emanuel de Swedenborg, sa vie, ses écrits et sa doctrine, Paris, Didier 1863; J. Hyde, A Bibliography of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg, Original and Translated, London, Swedenborg Society 1906; R.L. Tafel, Documents concerning the Life and Character of Swedenborg, collected, translated and annotated, 3 vols., London, Swedenborg Society 1875-1877; M. Lamm, Swedenborg. En studie ӧfver hans utveckling till mystiker och andeskådare, Stockholm, Hugo Geber 1915; Swedenborg and His Influence, eds. by E.J. Brock et al., Bryn Athyn, Academy of the New Church 1988; E. Benz, Emanuel Swedenborg: Naturforscher und Seher, München, Hermann Rinn 1948; I. Jonsson, Visionary Scientist. The Effect of Science and Philosophy on Swedenborg’s Cosmology, New York, Twayne 1971; I. Jonsson, Swedenborg. Sӧkarren I naturens och andens vӓrldar. Hans verkoch efterӧljd, Stockholm, Proprius 1976; F.M. Crasta, La filosofia della natura di E. Swedenborg, Milano, Angeli 1999; W. Ross Woofenden, Swedenborg explorer’s Guidebook, West Chester, Swedenborg Foundation 2002; Scribe of Heaven: Swedenborg’s Life, Work, and Impact, eds. by J.S. Rose, S. Shotwell, M.L. Bertucci, West Chester, Swedenborg Foundation 2005.