Marginalia on Politische Stimmungen

Abstract

With reference to his first political text, Politische Stimmungen (1917), the paper illustrates the use Karl Jaspers made of the concept of Stimmung. By doing this, it pursues two goals: 1) it shows analogies between Stimmungen and Weltanschauungen in the frame of the tradition of studies challenging the strict subject-object dualism; 2) it develops critical remarks on the relationships between politics, feelings and faith, the status of political success, the power of manipulating affectly masses. In both cases, Jaspers’ approach wins an unusual perspective of consideration.