Klages coined ‘aura’ for the distant archetypal quality of the world soul

Evidence

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, 818

Categorization

• DEFINE: Precise, reference-worthy origin of the term ‘aura’ — crucial for tracing Benjamin’s debt to Klages.
• XREF: Direct precursor to Benjamin’s aura concept; also connects to the general discussion of the Frankfurt School’s engagement with Lebensphilosophie. — connects to: Klages coined ‘aura’ as the distant archetypal quality of looked-at things. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 219; Aura is the modern residue of what anthropologists call the sacred. — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 1759; Klages defined the dream mood through passivity, felt distance, and fleetingness — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 815 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Individual subjectivity emerges through the soul’s progressive self-differentiation from universal nature #expands (0.78) — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel, 318
• Aristotelian hexis and Kantian imagination prefigure the Aufhebung structure #qualifies (0.72) — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel, 1007