Each era’s central idea gives way to the next epoch’s
Evidence
The century of Rousseau enshrined nature as its ideal, its absolute value, the goal of its longing. Toward the end of this epoch, ego, the spiritual personality, emerged as a new central concept. Some thinkers represented the totality of being as a creation of the ego; others saw personal identity as a task, the essential task for man. Thus the ego, human individuality, appeared either as an absolute moral demand or as the metaphysical purpose of the world. Despite the colorful variety of its intellectual movements, the nineteenth century did not develop a comprehensive central idea—unless, perhaps, we give this title to the idea of society, which for many nineteenth-century thinkers epitomized the reality of life. Thus the individual was often seen as a mere point of intersection for social series, or even as a fiction like the atom. Alternately, complete submergence of the self in society was demanded; to devote oneself completely to society was viewed as an absolute obligation, which included morality and everything else. Only at the very end of the century did a new idea appear: the concept of life was raised to a central place, in which perceptions of reality were united with metaphysical, psychological, moral, and aesthetic values. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 844
Categorization
- XREF: The sequence being→God→nature→ego→society→life maps onto the essay’s arc: modernity’s blasé self is the ego-idea pushed to its limit. Useful framing claim for the theoretical lineage. — connects to: Each major philosophical era mirrors its epoch’s dominant social structure — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2847; Chronological periodization distorts the meaning of historical processes.; Modern Western history moved from time-bias toward space-bias — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 621 (+1 more)
Related
- Each major philosophical era mirrors its epoch’s dominant social structure (similarity 0.82)
- An era’s philosophy is a synthesis of popular and elite worldviews (similarity 0.81)
- A historical epoch’s philosophy is the ensemble of all its tendencies, not one system (similarity 0.80)
- Understanding thought-becoming-epoch requires more than intellectual history (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Each major philosophical era mirrors its epoch’s dominant social structure
#expands(0.80) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2847 - Philosophers both reflect their historical milieu and shape future institutions
#corroborates(0.60) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 32 - Modern Western history moved from time-bias toward space-bias
#exemplifies(0.55) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 621 - Chronological periodization distorts the meaning of historical processes.
#qualifies(0.50)