Dalla «Organprojektion» alla «Ausdrucksfunktion»: forme dell’esteriorizzazione in Kapp e Cassirer

In this paper, I deal with Cassirer’s reception of Kapp’s concept of Organprojektion. In the first section, I delve into Kapp’s program to explain its cornerstones, starting from the very definition of «projection». Afterwards, I apply the general frame to Kapp’s analysis of the rise and development of tools and machines. In the last sub-section, I cope with his Protagorean claim of the homo mensura and address the interplay between the «unconsciousness» (Unbewusste) and the development of the «spirit» (Geist). In this respect, I also deal with the dyad nature-culture and prove that they interweave dialectically. In the second section, I tackle Cassirer’s references to Kapp in order to show how he modelled his ideas following Kapp’s theses. Nevertheless, I also argue that Cassirer's criticism depends on Kapp's overestimation of the biological meaning of "projection".