E. Cassirer's concept of symbolic form

The paper offers a systematic historical analysis of the origins, the meani ng and the extension of the basic concept of Cassirer's philosophy of the l ater period, seen from various points of view. Its main object is Cassirer' s essay of 1921, in which his only explicit definition of this concept can be found. Furthermore, the author examines to what extent the philosophy of symbolic forms turned away from the "orthodox" neokantism (P. Natorp), as well as the impact the discussions of the nature and status of Geisteseisse nschaften had on Cassirer's articulation of the universal symbolist philoso phy of culture.