Metamorphosing cultural patterns: Cassirer in the steps of Warburg on Culture Theory

My argument stems from a reading of the fifth study in Cassirer’s The Logic of the Cultural Sciences (1942), devoted to the “Tragedy of Culture.” I contend that this fifth study resolves an observable indecision in Cassirer’s position on cultural productions: to lead man toward greater happiness and freedom, should one strive to uphold traditional forms, or should one abandon old models and create new ones? I believe that Cassirer’s consideration of art historian Aby Warburg’s works (1866-1929) constitutes a defining moment in understanding his answer to that question. This fifth study illustrates the profound impact of Warburg’s model for understanding culture on Cassirer’s philosophy. Contrary to the claims of some exegetes, Cassirer and Warburg’s theoretical positions on the matter are very close. Cassirer’s treatment of the reception of artistic forms (he argues that form reception is never merely a passive act) follows, point by point, Warburg’s theory of the survival (Nachleben) of artistic motifs.