Analogical Thought, Natural Forms, and Human Type in Johann Gottfried Herder's Work

Analogical thoughtisakey concept in Herder'swork, providingacon-tinuous thread from his earlier writingsuptothe latest ones. Herder'saesthetics,his theory of knowledge,and his theory of mindrely on the thesis that humanbeingsare the'centre'of anypossible knowledge and onlyknow by means ofan analogical relation between the world and themselves. Herder developsthese ideas inamore systematic wayinhisIdeen(1784-1791), combininghis an-thropologicalviews with his philosophyofnatural history and of the history ofhumankind to provideto these latter not onlyauniversal law, but also concrete-ness and usefulness.Forthis reason, the notion of'type'as well as models, ex-amples, analogies from the world of nature and the culturalworld are the basisof anyknowledge which pursues thegoal of enhancing humankind

Cosmology, Astronomy, and Philosophy around 1800 : Schelling, Hegel, Herder

This article focuses on debates on philosophical knowledge, mathematics, and the empirical sciences by analyzing the positions on cosmological and astronomical knowledge, around 1800, of three German authors: Herder, Schelling, and Hegel. I show the mutual interdependence of Schelling's and Hegel's Naturphilosophie and Herder's Ideen, and I then demonstrate that the latter's position during the last years of his life was a reaction to Schelling's and Hegel's speculative philosophy. While Herder seems to ignore the works of the Naturphilosophen in his journal Adrastea, in fact he participated in a very lively debate that included Schelling's Weltseele and Hegel's Dissertatio de Orbitis Planetarum

Learning and Vision: Johann Gottfried Herder on Memory

A consistent thread throughout Johann Gottfried Herder’s thought is his interest in human knowledge and in its origins. Although he never formulated a systematic theory of knowledge, elements of one are disseminated in his writings, from the early manuscript Plato sagte (1766–68) to one of his last works, the periodical Adrastea (1801–3). Herder assigned a very special function to memory and to the related idea of a recollection of “images,” as they play a pivotal role in the formation of personal identity. He provided an original description of the Platonic theory of recollection, trying to merge ancient and modern metaphysical views and to interpret them from a less metaphysical and more psychological point of view. I then analyze Herder’s notion of memory via another research line, which is basically founded upon the analogy between the childhood of an individual and the infancy of the human race. Finally, I explore Herder’s view that memory and imagination, as “forces” of the soul, can have negative effects on an individual when they are not equally balanced

Genere umano e carattere nazionale nella concezione filosofica herderiana

L’autrice indaga il concetto di “carattere nazionale”, inserendolo nella prospettiva naturalistica, antropologica e storicistica che caratterizza la riflessione sia giovanile che matura di J.G. Herder (1744-1803). Si mostrerà, in un primo momento, che il rifiuto dell’idea di “razza” da parte di Herder emerga come dato incontrovertibile dalla lettura dei suoi scritti – troppo spesso oggetto di fraintendimenti – e come il concetto di identità nazionale sia conciliabile, in Herder, con una visione relativistica della storia della cultura ma anche, allo stesso tempo, con una tensione ‘umanitaria’ (e in un certo senso cosmopolita) di educazione del genere umano. Specialmente nell’ultima fase della produzione intellettuale dell’autore diventa evidente che tale riflessione, pur attraversando come un filo continuo tutta l’opera herderiana, divenga più urgente anche in quanto mossa dalla preoccupazione per il futuro non soltanto dell’Europa, ma dell’umanità tutta concepita come unione vivente e non astratta di popoli

L’economia della natura e il respiro del mondo. La filosofia della natura di Swedenborg tra Herder e Schelling (1770-1810)

The central role of the notion of ‘life’ mainly characterises the dialogue between Naturphilosophie and the sciences between the end of the Eighteenth and the first decades of the Nineteenth Century in Germany. Many problems and topics, from the relation Infinite-finite to that between inorganic matter and living beings, rely on this concept. Especially in the period between 1770 and 1810, authors such as Herder, Goethe and Schelling tried to provide a philosophical explanation of the genesis of the cosmos and that of the single organisms. In so doing, they pursued an understanding of how the coexistence of unity and variety in every part of the universe, and the concurrence of the ‘economy’ of the whole and the individual development, are possible. This led them to a dynamic idea of nature: a continual transformation or metamorphosis of forms takes place according to the repetition, in different ways, of a unique model or ‘typus’ and suggests the view of the world as an organism, according to the old formula that ‘the great’ corresponds to the ‘small’. For a better understanding of these problems, it is useful to consider them also from a historical point of view, taking into account some of the sources of the German thought of these decades about life and nature. In this perspective, Emanuel Swedenborgʼs philosophy of nature can be considered as a paradigm for many concepts, all related to the problem of life, which are very important for the German philosophers such as Herder and Schelling. For this reason, I will consider the reception of his ideas and works in Germany during the years from 1760 to 1810, taking advantage, in particular, of the reviews of his scientific and philosophical writings, and of the survey of the presence of his works and translations in the catalogues of the private libraries of philosophers. A big part of this thesis is devoted to the analysis of Swedenborg’s, Herder’s and Schelling’s writings (some of which are not available in Italian language yet), in order to make a comparison and show the connections among their ideas, which still partially need a thorough consideration

Die Lebensalteranalogie bei Herder und Schelling

This paper considers Herder's and Schelling's use of analogical thought and, in particular, the idea that the different stages of the history of humankind correspond to the different stages of the life of a single individual (Lebensalteranalogie). This idea is based on a connection and a correspondence between the world of nature and the world of spirit, of culture

Notizen über Herders Wirkung in Italien: nur ein ›Anreger‹?

This contribution provides an overview of scholarly reception of Johann Gottfried Herder’s works in Italy, from its beginning during the twentieth century with a focus on most recent developments in the latest decades. In comparison with the fortunes of Herder’s German contemporaries (e.g. Kant), a fecund interest in Herder’s thought appears quite late in Italy. This is surprising given his name was well known in Italy as one of the ‘German classists’, especially in the field of pedagogy and literature. Between the 1940s and the 1970s, however, significant studies on Herder began to appear together with Italian translations of some of his most important works (Treatise on the Origin of Language, Outlines of a Philosophy of the History of Man). In this phase, scholars focused primarily on two lines of research: Herder’s philosophical thought (his philosophies of history and of language), and understanding his place in the history of German philosophy between the eighteenth and the nineteenth century. Starting in the 1980s, new investigations into Herder’s work opened a multiplicity of research perspectives (in aesthetics, anthropology, cultural studies, history of science), thus recognizing in Herder not only an ‘instigator’, whose importance for the Romantic tradition as well as his role as a ‘precursor’ of historicism (according to Meinecke’s interpretation) are well-known, but establishing him also as an author of complex and far-reaching ideas. Most recently, studies and translations clearly attest to an increasing interest in Italy

“Paradise of childhood”: Herder’s theory of memory between Plato and Leibniz

This article examines J. G. Herder’s original doctrine of memory, as expressed in Über die Seelenwandrung (1782), where the author questioned the link between the theory of transmigration of souls and mnemonic processes. The first part of the paper focuses on the premises underlying Herder’s reflection on memory by means of an analysis of his early writings (such as the manuscript, written around 1767, known as Plato sagte) concerning Plato’s theory of recollection as interpreted by modern philosophers including Leibniz and Mendelssohn. These latter thinkers reappraise Plato’s theory of recollection, and ‘correct’ certain errors, such as the theory of a previous life in the hyperuranion as a premise of true knowledge. Herder reconsiders both Plato’s and Leibniz’s doctrines of recollection, attempting to eliminate their metaphysical implications and explain memory from a more anthropological and psychological perspective

L'ecomonia della natura e il respiro del mondo: la filosofia della natura di Swedenborg tra Herder e Schelling (1770-1810)

The central role of the notion of ‘life’ mainly characterises the dialogue between Naturphilosophie and the sciences between the end of the Eighteenth and the first decades of the Nineteenth Century in Germany. Many problems and topics, from the relation Infinite-finite to that between inorganic matter and living beings, rely on this concept. Especially in the period between 1770 and 1810, authors such as Herder, Goethe and Schelling tried to provide a philosophical explanation of the genesis of the cosmos and that of the single organisms. In so doing, they pursued an understanding of how the coexistence of unity and variety in every part of the universe, and the concurrence of the ‘economy’ of the whole and the individual development, are possible. This led them to a dynamic idea of nature: a continual transformation or metamorphosis of forms takes place according to the repetition, in different ways, of a unique model or ‘typus’ and suggests the view of the world as an organism. For a better understanding of these problems, it is useful to take into account some of the sources of the German thought of these decades about life and nature. In this perspective, Emanuel Swedenborg's philosophy of nature can be considered as a paradigm for many concepts, all related to the problem of life, which are very important for the German philosophers such as Herder and Schelling. A big part of this thesis is devoted to the analysis of Swedenborg’s, Herder’s and Schelling’s writings (some of which are not available in Italian language yet), in order to make a comparison and show the connections among their ideas, which still partially need a thorough consideration