Chapter I: Front Matter

The University of Chicago

HERDER’S CONCEPTION OF
“DAS VOLK”

A DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY
OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOLS OF ARTS AND LITERATURE
IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

DEPARTMENT OF GERMANICS

BY
GEORGIANA R. SIMPSON

Private Edition, Distributed By
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LIBRARIES
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
1921

Composed and Printed By
The University of Chicago Press
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY
OF MY
FRIEND AND TEACHER
FRÄULEIN AGNES BURCHARD
OF
ROSTOCK, GERMANY

NOTE

I wish to express my sincere thanks to all my Professors, but especially to Professors Starr W. Cutting, Martin Schütze, and Francis A. Wood, under whom the major portion of my work in the Graduate School has been pursued.

This particular study, however, is the outcome of interest awakened by Professor Schütze while I was a member of his seminars.

I owe a special debt of gratitude to him, not only for his guidance in this endeavor, but for the inspiration and encouragement which has come to me from the very beginning of my work under him.

GEORGIANA R. SIMPSON

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. SEMASIOLOGY OF THE WORD, _Volk_—THE IDEA IN OTHER WORDS 1

II. CONCEPTIONS OF _Volk_ AS SEEN IN HERDER’S USE OF THE TERM 4

III. CONCEPTIONS OF _Volk_ AS GATHERED FROM HERDER’S COLLECTION OF
_Volkslieder_ 15

IV. CONCEPTIONS OF _Volk_ IN HERDER’S DISCUSSION OF “OSSIAN’S
PEOPLE” AND THE ANCIENT HEBREWS 22

V. FOUNDATIONS OF INDIVIDUALITY AND PERSONALITY IN HERDER 31

VI. EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY THOUGHT IN HERDER’S CONCEPTION OF
_Das Volk_ 36

VII. CONCLUSION 54

BIBLIOGRAPHY 58