Kant's Concept of Nostalgia

Abstract

This article examines Kant's treatment of nostalgia through two analytical categories: explicit reflections, in which Kant directly addresses and analyzes the term das Heimweh ; and implicit reflections, which involve three concepts closely connected to his descriptions and definitions but not systematically examined within the explicit framework— memory , longing , and imagination . The paper concludes by engaging with Edward Casey's proposed solution to the question of which type of imagination ( productive or reproductive ) Kant employs in his definition of nostalgia, while introducing a novel interpretation of this theoretical issue.