scholarly journals The Mythical Foundation of Money and its Early Moments of Abstraction. Connections Between Georg Simmel and Ernst Cassirer

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-98
Author(s):  
Timo Klattenhoff
Keyword(s):  
Abstract Thinking ◽  
Georg Simmel ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Ernst Cassirer ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

Are there similarities between Georg Simmel's concept of money in its early stages and Ernst Cassirer's works on myth as a symbolic form? To answer this question, this paper discusses parts of Simmel's “Philosophy of Money” and Cassirer's “Philosophy of Symbolic Forms”: By showing how primeval use of objects which carry monetary characteristics can be parallelized with ways of mythic world interpretation, similarities between Simmel's and Cassirer's arguments can be highlighted. It is not only the mind, which gains the ability of abstract thinking their examples and concepts point to, but also an idea of culture, which reflects this development.

Kulturphilosophie in Weimar Modernism

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Michael Krois
Keyword(s):  
Conservative Approach ◽  
Georg Simmel ◽  
Ernst Cassirer ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Philosophy Of Culture ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
New Thinking ◽  
Scientific Phenomena ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

The Weimar Republic was one of the most fertile epochs in German philosophy, and its effects are still being felt today. The call for “new thinking” was shared by otherwise disparate approaches. The phenomenologists sought to find the “beginnings” of knowing in pre-scientific phenomena, while thinkers at the forefront of what would later be known as analytic philosophy found a new approach to philosophy in the analysis of language. A third approach took its starting point from the fact of culture and sought to find a new orientation for philosophy in the study of the historical world. This movement, known as “Kulturphilosophie” (the philosophy of culture), was often regarded as a more conservative approach to philosophy. This chapter highlights the characteristics of Kulturphilosophie. The discipline was pioneered by the sociologist Georg Simmel and perfected by the philosopher Ernst Cassirer especially in his monumental, three-volume masterpiece, The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms.

scholarly journals Reflections on social and religious pluralism based on the philosophy of Ernst Cassirer

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 338-358
Author(s):  
Drazen Volk
Keyword(s):  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Central Section ◽  
Ernst Cassirer ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

The analysis of possibilities of dialogue as the prerequisite for social and religious pluralism based on Ernst Cassirer?s philosophy of symbolic forms is the main theme of this article. In the central section, the basic elements of the philosophy of symbolic forms are briefly introduced and are followed by a portrayal of the relationship between consciousness, symbolic forms and freedom. The essay then focuses on Cassirer?s general premises for his analysis of myth and also his description of the techniques of modern political myths. These elements of Cassirer?s philosophy are put forth so as to demonstrate the relevancy of his thought with regard to the issue of dialogue and pluralism, and also to indicate the applicability of his analysis concerning the presence of mythical consciousness in modern societies, including also the societies on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The conclusion endeavors to gather the wealth of Cassirer?s analyses and to apply these in a condensed manner to an analysis of the situation in the regions indicated and also to point out directions to be taken in the search for possible solutions.

How Cassirer explains myth and other symbolic forms through semiotic functions

Semiotica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (233) ◽  
pp. 125-144
Author(s):  
Masoud Algooneh Juenghani
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Specific Form ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Ernst Cassirer ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Philosophy Of Culture ◽  
Independent Functions ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
The World

AbstractErnst Cassirer (1874–1945), Neo-Kantian philosopher of Marburg school, studies myth as a component of symbolic forms. He considers myth as the cornerstone of philosophy of culture as well as the source of such other forms as language, religion, art and science. Cassirer, applying an epistemological approach towards myths and other realms of human culture, argues that human beings experience the world through a mediated process. Of course, this mediated encounter with the world has different aspects in the evolving course of culture. These aspects are completely dependent upon the symbolic form through which man experiences his world. However, it seems what Cassirer puts forth as an explanation of the cultural evolution of mankind is basically influenced by his semiotic viewpoints. Therefore, the present article tries to find the theoretical resources of Cassirer’s thought and analyze his reasoning in this regard. Emphasizing Cassirer’s theoretical assumptions as well as his methodology, we have tried to better understand his claims about myth and other symbolic forms. It has been revealed that Cassirer’s theory is mainly shaped by his particular models of semiotic functions. Analyzing the semiotic functions of each specific form indicates that Cassirer has differentiated three independent functions. Each of these functions works on an expressive, Ausdrucken. representative, Darstellungen. or signifying Bedeutungen. basis and is respectively correspondent with myth, language, and science.

scholarly journals Od substancji do funkcji. Ernst Cassirer i pojęcie idealizacji

1970 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 11-32
Author(s):  
Giacomo Borbone
Keyword(s):  
Modern Philosophy ◽  
Scientific Concepts ◽  
Ernst Cassirer ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Conceptual Apparatus ◽  
German Philosopher ◽  
Explicit Analysis ◽  
The Difference ◽  
First Time ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

The German philosopher Ernst Cassirer is well known for his masterful historical works on modern philosophy and also for his philosophy of symbolic forms, but there is an aspect that has been disregarded by those scholars who dedicated several books and essays to Cassirer’s thought, I mean the difference between abstraction and idealization. The philosopher who, for the first time, developed systematically this topic in the field of epistemology was the Polish philosopher Leszek Nowak, but nonetheless, there are philosophical and epistemological works where we can find a very clear analysis of the difference existing between abstraction and idealization and, in this respect, the works of the German philosopher Ernst Cassirer are quite emblematic. It is very difficult to find in the literature on Cassirer some explicit analysis on this topic, so in this essay I will try, through Nowak’s conceptual apparatus, to explain the formation of scientific concepts in Cassirer’s view (especially by taking into account Cassirer’s critique of abstraction).

Ernst Bloch und Ernst Cassirer

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-112
Author(s):  
Ernst Wolfgang Orth
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Ernst Bloch ◽  
Ernst Cassirer ◽  
Systematic Comparison ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Philosophy Of Culture ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

Ernst Cassirer and Ernst Bloch are considered from the standpoint of the philosophy of culture as the object of comparative study. Instead of considering possible mutual correlative influences, their work is considered with regard to a possible systematic comparison. Bloch's Materialism, like Cassirer's Philosophy of symbolic Forms, can be read as a kind of philosophy of media, if we take »medium« to mean the dimension in which meaning is generated. Against this background Cassirer and Bloch make use of different means to thematize the mediality of culture.

scholarly journals Ist Kreativität ein subjektives oder ein kollektives Phänomen? Über eine ungeklärte Frage in der Non-representational Theory und eine denkbare Antwort der Philosophie der symbolischen Formen

2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-155
Author(s):  
P. Dirksmeier
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
Ernst Cassirer ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Interaction Processes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

Abstract. The micro-macro-problem of the social sciences is also present in human geographies' discussions of creativity. Creativity could be conceptualized either as a capability of subjects or as emerging from interaction processes. A direct consequence of this theoretical indecision is an inconsistent notion of creativity in Nigel Thrifts' nonrepresentational theory (NRT) that is originally developed to valuate creative praxis. The paper advances a proposal for conceptualizing creativity in NRT by using the philosophy of symbolic forms established by Ernst Cassirer. First, the paper develops a notion of individual creativity that is implied in Cassirers' work on symbolic pregnance and symbolic forms and via Bourdieus' interpretation of Cassirer also in the French sociologists' theory of incorporation. Second, the paper shows two possibilities to include the outlined notion of individual creativity in NRT. Creativity could be linked with NRT by modifying Bourdieus' concept of incorporation as used to establish a notion of nonrepresentational praxis. The second possibility of including creativity is a connection of affect and experience, which leads directly to the emergence of novelty.

Zum Begriff der Wissenschaft bei Cassirer

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-196
Author(s):  
Mathias Gutmann
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Ernst Cassirer ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Self Development ◽  
The Status ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

The concept of sciences holds a central place in the early philosophy of Ernst Cassirer and it provides a conceptual framework even for the philosophy of symbolic forms. This paper identifies Cassirer's concept of sciences as a double barrelled reconstructive approach, which allows to understand not only the constitution of actual scientific semantics but at the same time the transformation of the scientific mode of thought. It is shown, that these principles of transformation are indeed the very form of form, referring to which the transformation of a mode of thought is to be considered as a process of self-determination and self-development, a process that can only be understood re-constructively. It is this reconstructive approach of Marburgian Neokantianism which provides a specific culturalist point of view on the status of sciences and their formal, theoretical and experimental modes of world-making.

scholarly journals The missing piece in E. Cassirer’s theory of symbolic forms: the economy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg D. Blind ◽  
Raji Steineck
Keyword(s):  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
Institutional Innovation ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Argument Proceeds ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

Abstract Ernst Cassirer’s Philosophy of Symbolic Forms (PSF) primarily reflects on culture as a system of normative domains that are path-dependently configured. PSF elaborates on the domains of myth/religion, language, and science, but misses a discussion of the economy. By sketching a corresponding exposition, we contribute to the ongoing discussion of how economic science may investigate the world beyond utility functions. Our argument proceeds along historical and comparative lines with a ‘reciprocal comparison’ of the medieval economies of Europe and Japan. We thus approach the normative essence of economic thought and behaviour and test its variability in socio-cultural contexts diverging from ‘now’ and ‘here’. Our sketch of the economy as a symbolic form has important implications for the theoretical understanding of change in social systems. We argue that existing factors of change recognised in the economics discipline, such as fluctuations in supply and demand, and institutional innovation, critically require a superposition with patterns of cognition as they guide agents in their grasp of economic problems and, consequently, in their responses that shape material economies. We suggest that conceiving of the economy as a symbolic form makes these patterns of cognition accessible.

scholarly journals Cassirer and Dirac on the Symbolic Method in Quantum Mechanics: A Confluence of Opposites

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Ryckman
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Physical Theory ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Symbolic Thought ◽  
Symbolic Method ◽  
Symbolic Meanings ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms

Determinismus und Indeterminismus in der modernen Physik (DI) is one of Cassirer’s least known and studied works, despite his own assessment as “one of his most important achievements” (Gawronsky 1949, 29). A prominent theme locates quantum mechanics as a yet further step of the tendency within physical theory towards the purely functional theory of the concept and functional characterization of objectivity. In this respect DI can be considered an “update”, like the earlier monograph Zur Einsteinschen Relativitätstheorie: Erkenntnistheoretische Betrachtungen (1921), to Substanzbegriff und Funktionsbegriff (1910), a seminal work considering only classical and pre-relativistic physics. But how does DI cohere with the three volumes of The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms (1923–29) providing a systematic survey of symbolic meanings in diverse aspects of culture, each with its own mode of “objectification” via self-created signs and images? Cassirer’s “phenomenology of cognition” via distinct types of symbolic form locates Dirac’s Principles of Quantum Mechanics (1930) as an exemplar within physical theory of purely symbolic thought, a realm of pure relations and their correlated meanings. In particular, Dirac’s characterization of the new notion of “physical state” in quantum mechanics by a “symbolic algebra of observables” severed from particular representations points to a limiting pole of the Bedeutungsfunktion, the third and highest mode of symbolic formation.

Cassirer, Ernst (1874–1945)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Elder
Keyword(s):  
Human Knowledge ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Central Concept ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Symbolic Expression ◽  
Symbolic Forms ◽  
Absolute Idealism ◽  
Aby Warburg ◽  
Philosophy Of Symbolic Forms ◽  
Hermann Cohen

Ernst Alfred Cassirer was a philosopher and intellectual historian. The central concept of Cassirer’s system is that of symbolic form. Owing to Cassirer’s affiliations with Hermann Cohen (1848–1918) and the Marburg School, the concept is generally taken to be extension of Kant’s notion of the categories. There is some truth to the claim: Cassirer does maintain that human knowledge depends on our ability to give form to experience and that we use symbolic forms to give experience its shape. Neo-Kantians (among whom Cassirer is often counted) believed that sensation provides the material of experience, while the faculty they usually called "understanding" imposes form on the material of sensation to produce experience. However, the concept goes well beyond Kant’s ideas on the categories or their neo-Kantian extensions. Heinrich Hertz’s (1857–1894) Die Prinzipien der Mechanik (1894), especially its concept of "pictures," which linked concepts to intuition, transformed Cassirer’s Kantianism. Friedrich Theodor Vischer’s (1807–1887) Hegelian-inspired Ästhetik oder Wissenschaft des Schönen (3 vols., 1846–1857), endowed the concept with an idealist cast—indeed, a broader influence was the notion of the Idea in the German absolute Idealism. Cassirer traced the development of symbolic form through myth (Cassirer was influenced by Aby Warburg [1866–1929] and his Bibliothek Warburg), art, mathematics, science, and philosophy, identifying the stages of development as mimetic, analogical and the symbolic expression. He expounded his conception of symbolic form in the magisterial three-volume work, Philosophie der symbolischen Formen [The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms] (1923–1929).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document