Minseok Kim

This chapter provides a systematic interpretation of Benjamin’s theory of the concept in the “Epistemo-Critical Preface” to the Origin of the German Mourning Play. It revolves around the tension between the communicative and symbolic functions of the concept, which constitutes a key aspect of Benjamin’s theory of the concept. While elucidating two conflicting functions of the concept, the chapter highlights a crucial role of the symbolic concept in achieving the fundamental tasks of philosophy that Benjamin proposes in the “Preface”: presenting ideas and saving phenomena. What serves as the ground for this whole examination is Benjamin’s peculiar theory of the discontinuous multiplicity of ideas. The chapter traces how Benjamin develops such a peculiar theory from his doctoral dissertation through his theory of meaning to the “Preface,” offering an interpretive context for his theory of the concept and ideas. Based on this interpretive context, the chapter elaborates on two principles of concept formation that Benjamin outlines in the “Preface.” These two principles have to do with the object of the symbolic concepts and their peculiar historical character.