Langer, Susanne

Langer, Susanne (Katherina b. Knauth)

(1895–1985) philosopher; born in New York City. After graduating from Radcliffe College and earning a 1926 doctorate from Harvard, she taught at Radcliffe (1927–42) and held posts at Columbia University (1945–50) and Connecticut College (1954–61). Her seminal work, Philosophy in a New Key (1942), portrayed symbolism as the key in uniting such fields as logic, psychology, and art. She traced the development of mind in Mind: An Essay in Human Feeling (1967, 1972, 1982). She was also an accomplished amateur cellist.