Reconstructing the meaning and function of the concepts of force and form in Johann Gottfried Herder’s “Myśli o filozofii dziejów”

Abstract

The work Myśli o filozofii dziejów written by Johann Gottfried Herder contains a reconstruction of the history of mankind as well as theoretical elements. The author focuses on the first two parts of the work due to their analytical character. Theoretical solutions are treated as Herder’s instrumental background. The article is focused on the reconstruction of two concepts identified as key to the subject: “force” and “form”. The author’s thesis is that within Myśli… those terms allow the transition between superordinate, subordinate, and equivalent wholes, as well as the establishment of a conditional status of stability. The article makes it possible to identify the philosopher’s key problems, which the author considers important also in the contemporary scientific discourse.