Goethe's Concept of Geist. A Historical Investigation for Atmospheric Studies.

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K12967
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 01040:History of thought-related
• Research Institution: Kobe University
• Principal Investigator: Hisayama Yuho 神戸大学, 人文学研究科, 准教授 (70723378)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: ゲーテ / ガイスト / 雰囲気

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this KAKEN project, I studied Goethe's several works such as his Maerchen, Colour Theory, West-Eastern Divan and Faust II in order to examine their literal/scientific depictions of atmosphere as well as the use of the concept of Geist in the sense of atmosphere. Considered was also the concept of Geist in Goethe's contemporaries such as I. P. V. Troxler and Alexander von Humboldt for a comparative research. As a result, it was possible to elucidate the polysemy of Goethe's concept of Geist, particularly (1) its temporal (life-historical) implications and (2) its possible relationships to the (neo)phenomenological concept of atmosphere.

Free Research Field

文学、思想史、雰囲気学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ゲーテのガイスト概念については世界的にも先行研究が少なく、本科研の成果をなす日英独語での論文および口頭発表は好意的な反響を得た。なお、これら諸概念と東アジア思想史における「気」概念との類似性についても、本科研では今後の研究の種を蒔くことができた。また本科研をひとつの基盤として創出された新学術領域「雰囲気学」は、思想史研究を分野横断的に展開させるプラットフォームとなるべきものであり、本科研の後継課題では、ゲーテのテキストに含まれていた雰囲気をめぐる知見の萌芽を、倫理学、芸術学、地理学などの諸分野との協働により、社会実装をも視野に入れた現代的視点から開花させたい。