Abstract

This paper investigates the development of Scheler’s concept of upheaval (Umsturz) within the political context of the turmoil in the time from World War I to the Weimar Republic. I will argue that Scheler’s concepts and philosophical developments cannot be understood without taking the political and social events into account. In a first step, the essential points of the political context will be roughly outlined. In a second step, I will take a closer look at the development of “upheaval” in his political and social writings. My conclusion will be that while the Scheler of the middle period, rethinking and using Nietzsche’s idea of the revaluation of values is indeed a catalyst of his era, the later Scheler comes into his own, finally going beyond the mainstream ideas of his time.