Klages coined ‘aura’ as the distant archetypal quality of looked-at things.

Evidence

Page 199 Klages termed this distant quality in things looked at as archetypes their aura' or nimbus’. The distant quality he was referring to was that of the world soul, which could be seen above all in the temporal distance between us and the primeval world. The state of being contemplative "transports" us into "that which cannot be entered", into the motherworld of things which have passed, or . . . brings back the "spirits" of those who have long since passed away'. The fate of the world is present in the enlightened moment; unto the depths of space and unto the depths of time, everything which has ever happened and is happening takes its light and its meaning from the image, no matter how swiftly it passes away.’ — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 219

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the pre-Benjamin meaning of ‘aura’ as the archetypal distance of the world soul — essential for tracking how Benjamin inverted the term.
• XREF: Directly feeds the Frankfurt School material on Adorno’s reading of Benjamin’s aura and the commodity fetish. — connects to: Klages coined ‘aura’ for the distant archetypal quality of the world soul — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 818
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 219

Broader Connections

• Klages coined ‘aura’ for the distant archetypal quality of the world soul #expands (0.90) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 818