Der Mensch als Bedeutungssucher und der Mythos der Aura

Abstract

Men searching for Meaning and the Myth of the Aura
Examples of misinterpretations influenced by wishful thinking show how sometimes quite simple objects can become bearers of extraordinary meaning, i.e. solitary proofs for supposed techniques shifted into antiquity. Man who became a searcher for meaning throughout his evolution must be aware of the danger to see sometimes more meaning than really exists. The uniqueness of the original is often described by the more misleading than explaining term ‘aura’ originally coined by Benjamin. To many, the idea of a meaningful material quality (‘emanation’) of the object is evoked. This obscures the view on the true location of the aura: the brain of the beholder.