Is the "Zeitgeist" basically just pantheism?
- Mark_Lee
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Is the "Zeitgeist" basically just pantheism?
And if it is, isn't it just some German version of pantheism?
I'm really drawing a blank here...
Thanks.
- ctruxall0284
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Re: Is the "Zeitgeist" basically just pantheism?
That's my understanding but it can be expanded on
- ctruxall0284
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Re: Is the "Zeitgeist" basically just pantheism?
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Re: Is the "Zeitgeist" basically just pantheism?
- Papus79
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Re: Is the "Zeitgeist" basically just pantheism?
- Hereandnow
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Re: Is the "Zeitgeist" basically just pantheism?
In the more mundane sense of the term, it simply means something like the spirit of a historical period, how a society of like minded people comported themselves in their thoughts, feelings, institutions, and so on.
- Terrapin Station
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Re: Is the "Zeitgeist" basically just pantheism?
"German, 'spirit of the times': a term used by German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) to refer to a type of supraindividual mind at work in the world and manifest in the cultural worldview (see Weltanschauung) that pervades the ideas, attitudes, and feelings of a particular society in a specific historical period. Used in this way, the term has a distinctly deterministic flavor. A Zeitgeist theory of history stresses the role of such situational factors as economics, technology, and social influences in contrast to the great man theory of history. The term was first used in English by British poet and literary critic Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) and introduced to psychology in 1929 by Edwin G. Boring, who used the concept as an organizing theme for his discussions of creativity, scientific change, and historiography."
And Wikipedia:
"The zeitgeist [1] (German pronunciation /ˈtsaɪtɡaɪst/ About this soundZeitgeist (help·info)) is a concept from eighteenth- to nineteenth-century German philosophy, meaning 'spirit of the age' or 'spirit of the times.' It refers to an invisible agent or force dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history.[2]
"Now the term is mostly associated with Hegel, contrasting with Hegel's use of Volksgeist 'national spirit' and Weltgeist 'world-spirit,' but its coinage and popularization precedes Hegel, and is mostly due to Herder and Goethe.[3] Other philosophers who were associated with such concepts include Spencer[year needed] and Voltaire.[year needed][4]
"Contemporary use of the term may, more pragmatically, refer to a schema of fashions or fads that prescribes what is considered to be acceptable or tasteful for an era, e.g. in the field of architecture.[4]"
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