In Memoriam Ivan Illich: Critic of Professionalized Design

摘要

Ivan Illich, who inspired a critical appreciation of design and its limits, died his own death quietly at the home of friends in Bremen, Germany, on December 2, 2002. He was 76 years old, and had suffered for more than a decade with what appeared to be a mandibular tumor that he chose to treat as a difficult friend rather than an enemy. He was buried three days later on the outskirts of a city that had a tradition of independent hospitality for those who might even be its strongest critics. For the last ten years, Illich had lectured regularly at the Universitaet Bremen on such topics as friendship, askesis, and the history of the senses, in order to question "modern certainties." He had been preparing a lecture on misterium iniquitatis, the mystery of evil, when he became tired, lay down for a nap, and did not awake again to this world. After being allowed to remain for three days simply where he had found rest, kept company by a single candle, a bouquet of flowers, and friends, he was buried in the Oberneulaender cemetery.