Who Are The Best Translators?

Philosophy Forums Philosophy
1

09.18.06.1567

I was reading a recent thread: the theory of everything started by Phil27of79, whose first three posts pretty much summed up the degree of conjecture this person is capable of. However, what really kept me reading was the trump-card response from détrop which sums up just about how easy it is for him to kick ass. Yet, it didn’t stop there… we have Peter the Wise getting into a hot debate that eventually brings up a topic about translation. The question I built in my mind was too big for that thread, so I have built another from it…

Who are the best translators of non-English writing/speaking/foreign/dead philosophers?

I already know all too well that when it comes to Nietzsche, Walter Kaufmann is numero uno; followed by R.J. Hollingdale as a near-by second. There are no substitutes… Go and compare Kaufmann to any other translator and find out for yourself why he’s the best.

Also, I don’t want to limit this great question to just Western philosophers… Eastern philosophy is just as critical. For example, of the hundreds of translations of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, who could possibly have the best undisputed translation from the ancient Chinese?

2

Sage, not to blow my own horn, but I am the definitive translator (into English) of Ernst Werklempter. That I am the only one is a secondary point.

3

I generally like D.C. Lau, for East Asian texts. He’s very steeped in the Neo-Confucian orthodoxy, but that is better than Legge’s Christian lens! Waley is another good call, I disagree with him occasionally and his friendship with Ezra Pound made him take a few more liberties than I would like, but he is pretty solid, all-in-all.

For the Xunzi, I’d really recommend Knoblock over the more popular Watson. Knoblock really is the definative version, plus the historical context that is included really makes the text much more managable.