Alfons Deeken

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Alfons Deeken SJ (born August 3, 1932 in Emstek near Oldenburg ; † September 6, 2020 in Tokyo ) was a German Jesuit and philosopher .

Life

Alfons Deeken entered the Jesuit order in 1952 and went in 1959 after studying in Munich and Tokyo and doctoral ( PhD ) at Fordham University in New York as a missionary to Japan. He was ordained a Catholic priest in Tokyo in 1965 .

Deeken received in 1973 a reputation as a professor of philosophy at the Sophia University in Tokyo. His specialty was the philosophy of death . In 2002 he retired .

He founded the Japanese Society for Death Education and Mourning Work in 1982 . Deeken was the initiator of the hospice idea in Japan; previously there were no such facilities in Japan. The society now has around 6,000 members in 47 Japanese cities.

In 1989, Deeken received the Global Prize for Social Welfare and Social Medicine from the International Global Foundation in Tokyo, and two years later the Kikuchi Kan Prize . In 1998 he received the Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and in 1999 the Culture Prize of the Tokyo Prefecture (Tōkyō-to bunka-shō) .

He published 27 books in Japan; in Germany, the title Alt sein ist lernbar appeared .

From 1965 Alfons Deeken was a member of the Catholic student fraternity AV Edo-Rhenania in Tokyo , a friendly association of the CV .

Fonts (in German)

  • Being old can be learned. Instructions and help. Butzon and Bercker, 2000, ISBN 3766696521

literature

  • Lucia Schröer: Prof. Dr. Alfons Deeken SJ. Missionary and thanatologist in Japan. In: Yearbook for the Oldenburger Münsterland. Volume 46 (1997) pp. 311-315, digitized .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christoph Floren: Südoldenburger teaches in Japan. In: NWZonline.de . March 17, 2015, accessed September 7, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Alfons Deeken, priest and noted thanatologist, dies at 88. In: asahi.com . September 7, 2020, accessed on September 7, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Deeken, Alfons
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Deeken, Alfons SJ
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Jesuit and philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH August 3, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Emstek near Oldenburg
DATE OF DEATH September 6, 2020
Place of death Tokyo