Variazioni sul problema dell'anima in Johann Gottfried Herder tra gli anni '60 e '70 del XVIII secolo

This essay reconstructs some fundamental phases of J.G. Herder’s early reflections concerning the problem of the relationship between soul and body as well as the immortality of the soul. The reason why Herder does not accept metempsychosis but rather endorses the palingenetic theory stems from his confrontation with Moses Mendelssohn’s theories, but above all from the considerations on human morality expressed by Thomas Abbt. The beauty of the soul is not linked to a classicist ideal, although it remains within the frame of Platonism, but to the idea that anyone – aware of the “similarity” shared with other individuals – contributes to one’s own salvation thanks to good and just deeds in the earthly world. This kind of “schöne Seele” remains in the sphere of divine influence in the universe as a positive memory of a virtuous past, which has the opportunity to regenerate in a new human existence.