Download or read book Primitive Thinking written by Nicola Gess and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2022-09-06 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the discourse on ‘primitive thinking’ in early twentieth century Germany. It explores texts from the social sciences, writings on art and language and – most centrally – literary works by Robert Musil, Walter Benjamin, Gottfried Benn and Robert Müller, focusing on three figurations of alterity prominent in European primitivism: indigenous cultures, children, and the mentally ill.