Herder and Naturalism

Philosophy, History, Language, Religion
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-3-11-078232-5
Verlag: De Gruyter

Buch, Englisch, Deutsch, 400 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 230 mm

Johann Gottfried Herder did not himself use the term "naturalism", which only appears in the later nineteenth century, but scholars now widely agree that its spirit and intent characterize his thought as a whole. Herder sought to provide an account of human beings that squarely places them in nature. Even though he hastens to clarify that "nature is God in all his works", nature is not to be understood according to divine interventionist principles but rather according to its own immanent principles, such as material and organic forces. The original essays collected here explore the many dimensions of Herder’s naturalism: in philosophy, history, language, aesthetics, and religion. Collectively, they illustrate how Herder sought to show that human beings can only properly be understood when they are situated in their spatio-temporal context as linguistic creatures who, through their interactions with each other and their environment, produce the meanings and values that orient them in art, literature, music, customs and practices, but also in economic and political systems and even in religion. This volume sheds light not only on Herder’s thought, but also on a line of thought that emerged in the Enlightenment but whose importance has only grown.

Autoren/Hrsg.

DeSouza, Nigel

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Strömungen & Epochen
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Deutsche Literatur
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Philosophie: Allgemeines, Methoden
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Naturwissenschaften, Technik, Medizin
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Erkenntnistheorie

Über Autor(innen)

Nigel DeSouza, Philosophisches Institut, Universität Ottawa, Kanada.

Nigel DeSouza, Philosophisches Institut, Universität Ottawa, Kanada.