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Sein Zentrum bildet die menschliche Vernunft

English translation: at its core is human reason

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Sein Zentrum bildet die menschliche Vernunft
English translation:at its core is human reason
Entered by: Maureen Millington-Brodie

01:35 Jul 23, 2005
German to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - History / Erasmus of Rotterdam's work
German term or phrase: Sein Zentrum bildet die menschliche Vernunft
Hello all! I'm having trouble with the bit in the asterisks. Well, with the whole concept, actually, but mainly the bit in the asterisks! ;-) Can anyone help? My draft translation of the rest of the paragraph is below:

"Als ein Vordenker der Reformation ist Erasmus’ Hauptanliegen die Begründung des Humanismus. ***Sein Zentrum bildet die menschliche Vernunft***, die mit den christlichen Idealen und der Weisheit antiker Gelehrter vereint werden soll."

"As one of the masterminds of the Reformation, Erasmus’ main objective is the founding of humanism. His work focuses on the reconciliation of human understanding with Christian ideals and antique wisdom."

I have no idea what this means and would be very grateful for any help!
Hilary Davies Shelby
United States
Local time: 06:09
At its core is human reason
Explanation:
I think it works better if you re-phrase; or "it is based on..."
Selected response from:

Maureen Millington-Brodie
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:09
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5At its core is human reason
Maureen Millington-Brodie
4 +2He champions ... / His philosophy is centered on human reason / ... rationality
NGK
4 +1It is founded on reason
USER00230 (X)
3 +1His main focus is human reason
BrigitteHilgner
2human reason is the nucleus/core around which ...
Jonathan MacKerron


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
He champions ... / His philosophy is centered on human reason / ... rationality


Explanation:
A pioneer of the Reformation, Erasmus is primarily concerned with the justification of humanism. He champions human reason, merging it with Christian ideals and the wisdom of antique scholars.

Begründung: laying the philosphical foundations for and/or arguing the defense of humanism

Vernunft: reason, rationality

vereinen: combine, marry, merge, unite; IMO reconcile is too much of an interpretation

NGK
United States
Local time: 06:09
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 55

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Aniello Scognamiglio (X)
4 hrs
agree  Ulrike Kraemer: with "his philosophy is centered on..."
5 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
At its core is human reason


Explanation:
I think it works better if you re-phrase; or "it is based on..."

Maureen Millington-Brodie
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:09
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 28
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Lancashireman: sein = its
7 hrs
agree  mill2: Ja, oder "humanism, whose core is"... "Sein" bezieht sich doch auf Humanismus, nicht auf Erasmus.
7 hrs
agree  Anne Schulz
16 hrs
agree  shineda
1 day 5 hrs
agree  Siegfried Armbruster
10 days
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
His main focus is human reason


Explanation:
His main focus is human reason which he tries to reconcile with Christian ideals and the wisdom of the ancient world.
Believing (i.e. Christianity) has nothing to do with reason, e.g. how can you reasonably explain the existence of God? The scholars mentioned are probably Greek philosophers who did write a lot about reason, but contradicted each other and saw quite a few things differently from Erasmus. He tried to create a kind of overall structure/framework to integrate the lot (including Roman Catholic belief and also the new Lutheran ideas).

BrigitteHilgner
Austria
Local time: 13:09
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 32

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mario Marcolin
1 day 10 hrs
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
human reason is the nucleus/core around which ...


Explanation:
???

Jonathan MacKerron
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 47
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1 day 19 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
It is founded on reason


Explanation:
what is crucial here is that IMO "sein" refers to "Humanismus".

A quick rendition is as follows:

As a forerunner (NB not a mastermind) of the Reformation, E.'s main concern was to ground humanism. It is founded on reason, which was to be united with Christian ideals and the wisdom of the ancients.

Note also that the German is using the historic present here, which IMO can be transalted either with past or present tenses, depending on context.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 8 hrs 32 mins (2005-07-25 10:07:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

i.e. sein does not refer to Erasmus

USER00230 (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:09
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  verbis
1 day 1 hr
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