Volksgeist

Volksgeist is a German loanword (literally meaning "spirit of the people" or "National character") for a unique "spirit" possessed collectively by each people or nation. The idea is often attributed to the philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder, but he never actually used the word. Hegel coined the term Volksgeist in 1801 but some authors deny that the idea is originally German. According to these authors the influence of the idea in German thought comes from Montesquieu and Voltaire, i.e. from the Age of Enlightenment.Johann Gottfried Herder used the idea as a way of encouraging German-speaking peoples to forge a national and cultural identity. Later, in some authors, for example Ernest Renan and his "esprit de la nation" or "génie de race", the concept is characterized by racism.