Robert Musil

Stephen D. Dowden (Brandeis University)
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Robert Musil was a novelist, essayist and playwright who had studied engineering, mathematics, philosophy, physics, and psychology and worked productively in all these areas. All these interests converge and reach their fullest expression in his fiction, and especially in his novel Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften [The Man Without Qualities, vols. 1 & 2: 1930-1933; vol. 3, edited by Martha Musil: 1943]. Musil's scientific training inculcated in him an abiding respect for mathematical standards of accuracy in representation. His most powerful commitment as a scientist, psychologist and artist was to the closest fit possible between the world itself and the representation of the world that we make to ourselves. Musil was …

2012 words

Citation: Dowden, Stephen D.. "Robert Musil". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 March 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3273, accessed 21 November 2024.]

3273 Robert Musil 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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