- published: 16 Jan 2013
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Zeitgeist (German pronunciation: [ˈtsaɪtɡaɪst] ( listen)) is "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age." Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual, or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.
The term is a loanword from German Zeit – "time" and Geist – "spirit" (cognate with English "ghost").
The concept of Zeitgeist goes back to Johann Gottfried Herder and other German Romanticists, such as Cornelius Jagdmann, but is best known in relation to Hegel's philosophy of history. In 1769 Herder wrote a critique of the work Genius seculi by the philologist Christian Adolph Klotz and introduced the word Zeitgeist into German as a translation of genius seculi (Latin: genius - "guardian spirit" and saeculi - "of the age").
The Guardian.co.uk and Instructables.com have features showing popular and trending news, topics, and articles, called Zeitgeist. In addition, The Japan Times runs a feature titled "The Zeit Gist" every Tuesday, which covers community issues particularly relevant to the foreign community within Japan.