WALD, HENRI

WALD, HENRI (1920–2002), Romanian philosopher; regarded as an authority on trends in contemporary philosophy and dialectical logics. Born into a Jewish family of humble means, Wald lectured at Bucharest University on logic and the theory of knowledge from 1948 to 1962, and in 1953 was appointed director of the department of dialectical materialism at the Institute of Philosophy of the Rumanian Academy. Wald's works included Rolul limbajului în formarea ṣi desvoltarea ideilor ("The Role of Speaking in the Formation and Development of Ideas," 1956); Filozofia Deznaˇdejdii ("The Philosophy of Desperation," 1957); Structura logicaˇ a gindirii ("The Logical Structure of Thought," 1962); and Realitate şi limbaj ("Reality and Speaking," 1968). Later he also became interested in linguistics and semantics, fields to which his contribution was a most important one. Wald was also interested in the development and criticism of Marxian theory that did not follow the Leninist line. He also published several valuable contributions to the history of Jewish culture in the publications of the Jewish community. (Dora Litani-Littman / Paul Schveiger (2nd ed.)