Georg Simmel’s nationalism and transnational rationalism

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to determine the change of worldview paradigm from “nationalism” to “transnational rationalism”, which was embodied in the concept of the “Ideal Europe”, on the example of journalism and scientific works of the German philosopher and sociologist Georg Simmel during the First World War (1914–1918). Research methods: idiographic, system-structural, rational reconstruction of the text. Main results. G. Simmel was between two polar camps, which in the conditions of heightened perception of social reality led him to an individual tragedy and demonstrated the difficulty of choosing between two worldview paradigms – “nationalism” and “patriotism”. G. Simmel didn’t escape the general admiration of German intellectuals for the “ideas of 1914” at the initial stage of the war. He supported propaganda slogans in journalism, hoping that the war could unite the German people to a “political nation”, overcome the dichotomy of individual freedom and universalism. Shattered hopes of supporting the international intellectual environment to explain Germany’s position in the war, censorship harassment and accusations of anti-German activities contributed to his more moderate position. Analyzing the problems of the “crisis of culture” and German national consciousness, G. Simmel advocated the synthesis of “nationalism” and “transnationalism”, which he formed in the concept of the “ideal Europe” as a spiritual supranational community. Scientific novelty: for the first time in national historiography, a comprehensive analysis of the works of G. Simmel of the war period is carried out. Type of article: analytical and descriptive.