Die Sprache der Leidenschaften. Georg Friedrich Meiers Theoretische Lehre von den Gemüthsbewegungen überhaupt als emotional-ästhetischer Leitfaden für ›schöne Geister‹
The Language of Emotions: Theoretische Lehre von den Gemüthsbewegungen überhaupt by Georg Friedrich Meier as an Aesthetic-Emotional Guide for ʻDaydreamersʼ

Summary/Abstract: The growing interest in the sphere of emotions in philosophy and literature in the first half of the 18th century resulted in an intensified reflection of the necessity of scientifically describing these non-material occurrences and an awareness of the restrictions of language. The author of this article pays special attention to the writings of Georg Friedrich Meier, who was the first to introduce the joint concept of “the language of emotions” and the idea of “daydreamers”-orators, writers and poets. Taking into account that fact knowledge of “the entire human being” (“der ganze Mensch”) is needed by creators, Meier writes about the mechanism which act on the emotions of others and those mechanisms which evoke these emotions, and he emphasises the fact that empathy is an essential part of the reception of literary works. In his later texts, Meier uses the metaphor “die Sprache der Leidenschaften” (ʻthe language of emotionsʼ) in the context of the creations of poems and prose.

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