G.-K. KALTENBRUNNER ON J. GÖRRES’S “MYSTICAL ANTHROPOLOGY”

Abstract

The article aims to clarify the significance of J. Görres’s (1776–1848) views for the theoretical grounding of “realistic anthropology,” upon which conservative thought should be based in its “transcendental-sociological structure,” transcending specific historical periods. When listing sources for the formation of “realistic anthropology,” the theorist of “enlightened conservatism,” G.-K. Kaltenbrunner (1939–2011), does not directly name Görres. An analysis of brief quotes and mentions of the importance of Görres’s ideas in collections on conservatism from the 1980s and 1990s and in an essay on L. Klages has been conducted. The article presents an overview of essay by Kaltenbrunner on Görres. The study revealed that one of the main tenets of “realistic anthropology” – “man is not only ‘homo sapiens’ but also ‘homo demens’ ” – is a quote from Görres, summarizing his concept of “two natures” acting within man: the “nocturnal” and the “diurnal,” which have become one in man but are in constant conflict. These two natures have become one in man, much like two tones form a single chord. Divine compassion holds the two natures together in their interpenetration. It is concluded that Görres’s propositions on man’s inclination towards evil and the reality of “demonic” and “Apollonian” forces acting in history can be called “preliminary knowledge,” the source of “eternal principles” that underlie the assertion by 20th-century German conservatives of the necessity of institutions of religion, ethos, state, law, and family for the cultivation of the character and soul of a man dangerous to himself.