Essay - German Nationalism Johann Gottfried Herder Locates the Origins of Nationalism...

German nationalism

Johann Gottfried Herder locates the origins of nationalism in nature. According to his perspective, the planet's natural geographical evolution gave rise ***** different groups of "peoples" who developed their own customs in isolation from other nation-based identities. He identifies a nation as a "natural state" with a "character" of its own. If the state is well governed, then whoever rules it will cultivate it according to *****s own ***** laws.

Besides *****, from which national character springs over a period of thousands of years, there is language that gives one a national identity. Herder declares language ***** be the heart of the people. Without it, he argues convincingly, t*****re is no way for a nation to express its culture.

Above all, *****'s conception of nationalism calls for the peaceful co-existence of nations under ***** guise of mutual respect for their individual *****istics, culture, and *****. At the time of its publication in 1784, it was a version of n*****tionalism, called "cultural nationalism," that ***** for the acknowledgement ***** a strong German national ident*****y as well ***** respect ********** other, foreign national identities, without privileg*****g ***** over the other. In that regard, it is qu*****e distant from the negative characteristics one tends to associate with the term "*****" in this day ***** age - particularly the version of nationalism that came ***** be privileged in the 20th century in Germany.

Herder's tolerant views on nationalism were firmly rooted in the thinking of the German Enlightenment. His thinking coincided with ***** slow development of tolerance towards religious minorities in the German states.

While this initially had more to do ***** economic and social considerations, Herder's ***** on the subject endowed cultural nationalism with a mor*****l, humanistic quality: "As God ********** all the different langu*****s in ***** world, so should a ruler not only toler*****te but honor the various languages of his *****."

It is interesting to *****e that Herder composed these words three ***** after Joseph II's 1781 Edict of Toleration. This Edict would give the majority of non-Catholics the right to practice ***** religion in Germany.

*****, it is not hard to see Herder's thoughts on ***** as be*****g firmly rooted in ***** progressive intellectual zeitgeist ***** the late 18th century.

The rise of education ***** literacy throughout the German ***** helped cement the conception of a Germ*****n national identity; by the end of the 18th *****, nearly all books published in ***** German ***** were in the German language. Before, the vast majority of books had been published ***** Latin, and could thus only be read by the educated minority. The new views ***** ***** and accessibility ***** ideas ensured a wider reading public for new ideas, such as those of Herder.

*****'s conception of cultural nationalism was in ********** ways a reaction to the earlier predominance of French language and culture in the ***** states.

His idea was ***** every nation was an organic ***** community, a Volk, ********** should thus be judged on ***** ***** *****s,