z-logo
open-access-imgOpen Access
Kollektiv (Collective)
Author(s) -
Kai Sina
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
goethe-lexicon of philosophical concepts
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2694-2321
DOI - 10.5195/glpc.2021.47
Subject(s) - compendium , poetics , epistemology , philosophy , collective memory , literature , sociology , linguistics , poetry , art , theology
The idea of the ‘collective’ plays a key role in Goethe’s late work. It denotes a balance between multiplicity and unity, heterogeneity and homogeneity, which is characteristic both of Goethe’s authorship and of his literary work, above all his novel Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre (1829; Wilhelm Meister’s Journeyman Years). Etymologically, Goethe’s use of the term refers back to its original meaning from the Latin colligere; for him, a collective emerges when parts are gathered and arranged into some sort of ordered whole. It has formal, intellectual, and social implications. The term is semantically close to the concepts of the ‘aggregate’ and the ‘compendium,’ which are also essential to Goethe’s late poetics. The collective, the aggregate, and the compendium are all situated between mere particularity and full systematicity, in a sphere of the intermediary. Finally, Goethe’s idea of the collective found resonance primarily and early on in the United States, specifically in the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The content you want is available to Zendy users.

Already have an account? Click here to sign in.
Having issues? You can contact us here