Germany's Conscience: Friedrich Meinecke: Champion of German Historicism

Reinbert Krol

Published by transcript Verlag 2021

Germany's Conscience

Friedrich Meinecke: Champion of German Historicism

Reinbert Krol

Volume 8 in the series Zeit - Sinn - Kultur

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839451359

Overview
Contents

About this book

Questions of truth, ethics, state power, and propaganda, of how to render account of catastrophes and reconcile oneself with one's past are not only crucial to our time, they were also central to the German historian Friedrich Meinecke (1862-1954). Probably no generation of historians before Meinecke had lived through more unsettling transformations, during which these questions were most pressing. Reinbert Krol's analysis of Meinecke's intellectual development does not only give us insight into his philosophy of history - which turns out to be more conciliatory than previously assumed - it can also be a source of inspiration for scholars of history today.

Author / Editor information

Reinbert Krol, born 1979, teaches history at the University of Groningen. His research interests are German political and cultural history, with a specific focus on philosophy of history.

Reviews

"Krol's well-wrought argument on Meinecke's conception of history offers a profound analysis of Meinecke's overall intellectual development. Krol's excellent book convincingly shows the ambiguity of Meinecke's historical, philosophical and political thought. And most importantly, Krol's study contributes to the international debate in both the United States and Germany in an original and innovative way." (Gisela Bock, Professor of Modern History of Western Europe, Free University Berlin) "In this ambitious and profound study Krol argues that Meinecke's major works are all organized around an antithesis. However, thanks to his desire for reconciliation Meinecke always struck in each case a well-considered balance between the two poles of the antithesis. It is Krol's achievement to show that a panentheistic philosophy of history enabled this balance and that it is here that we find the key to a proper understanding of Meinecke's oeuvre. This book is not only indispensable for anyone interested in Meinecke but also essential for a better understanding of the whole historicist tradition." Frank Ankersmit, Emeritus Professor of Intellectual and Theoretical History, University of Groningen

Besprochen in
H-Soz-Kult, 26.11.2021, Anna Corsten

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	1
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	5
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
1. The Ideal of a unity
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	47
1.1 Nations, the national state and cosmopolitanism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	53
1.2 The universal and the national Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
1.3 The reconciliation of cosmopolitanism and the national state? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	68
1.4 The tradition of the ideal Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	78
2. Struggling with a world view
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
2.1 Prelude Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	84
2.2 Staatsräson according to Meinecke Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
2.3 The tragic character of Meinecke’s Staatsräson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	98
3. A conscience akin to God
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	113
3.1 Staatsräson as a ‘solution’ Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	114
3.2 The statesman’s conscience Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	124
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	132
4. A world view in the making
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	135
4.1 The individualizing view Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	139
4.2 Pietism and Neoplatonism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
4.3 Reason and Unreason Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
4.4 Traditionalism and historicism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
4.5 The prelude to Meinecke’s historicism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	157
4.6 Science or world view Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	162
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	172
5. Harmony regained
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
5.1 Polarities and harmony Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	180
5.2 Meinecke’s Umdeutung of Goethe Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	192
5.3 Goethe and the daemonic Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	196
5.4 Harmony and dissonance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	200
5.5 Meinecke and the crisis of historicism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	204
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	221
6. The authority of the personality
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	225
6.1 A controversial study Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	231
6.2 A catastrophic synthesis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	234
6.3 Nature, chance, fate Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
6.4 Kultur as cure Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	245
6.5 Apotheosis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	252
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	260
Final conclusions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	263
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	271
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	296

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: transcript Verlag
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 302
Keywords: German Historicism; Panentheism; Philosophy of History; Ethics; Cultural History; Science; History of Science; Theory of History; History; Cultural Studies

eBook

Published: June 27, 2021
ISBN: 9783839451359