Theodor Haecker's German translation of S?ren Kierkegaard and Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus were the first and only German-language philosophy I could care to read and understand somewhat.

The same question was asked to one of my professors once and he suggested Kafka. Now there is of course a huge difference between the sentences of Hegel and Kant on the one hand and Kafka on the other. But you cannot pass neither of them (lots of Ausgaben of them all, take Reclam). The quotes I remember are not from Kafka though. Why don't you try some of Goethe? His most "simple" poems are so deep and beautiful ("?ber allen Gipfeln ist Ruhe...").

Ah Goethe!! I forgot about him, but if you count him as philosopher, some of his poems are pretty neat in German:

Aug, mein Aug, was sinkst du nieder? Goldne Tr?ume, kommt ihr wieder? Weg, du Traum! so gold du bist; Heir auch Lieb und Leben ist!

Not count Goethe as a philosopher?? :shocked: . Hey, quite a few german writers are more than "just literary" no? Take Heine for instance. Ah, so much to discover there. Guess we could go on forever... :bigsmile:

Another approach suggests beginning by reading contemporary philosophical journals, such as Zeitschrift fur philosophische Forschug. In addition to the advantage of (relatively, compared to the original) short articles, these periodicals cover a wide range of topics, periods, and philosophers that would easily expand your philosphical vocabulary, and at the same time, would introduce you to current argumentative style.

Yeah I remember reading wittengenstien in german saying the limits of his language were the limits of his world. I wish I could quote it Thank you.
I wonder how I would say "leap of faith"

Please,everyone, remember that this forum is not designed for prolonged discussion or dialogue, but the for the straightforward asking a question and the providing answers focused on the original question.
Thanks,
John