The Goethe-Lexicon of Philosophical Concepts (GLPC) is a collaborative research initiative investigating the central role played by concepts and their re-invention in Goethe’s “heterodox” development as a philosopher. By drawing on digital technologies the project’s international team of cross-disciplinary collaborators will collate a collection of concepts that, when taken together, allowed Goethe to reformulate the central questions of traditional philosophy.

As a dynamic reference work hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS), the GLPC uses the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform to publish installments of peer-reviewed lexicon entries, thereby enabling a mapping of Goethe’s philosophical heterodoxies.

All of the completed entries will be made available quarterly, and curated collections of concepts will also be published from time to time (e.g., signature concepts; conceptual networks; concepts drawn from theology, ethics, ontology, aesthetics, etc.).

Grants and Financial Support

Since 2019, the Goethe-Lexicon of Philosophical Concepts has been generously supported by several grants and institutional benefactors.

In 2019, Clark S. Muenzer (PI) won the Chancellor’s Grant at the University of Pittsburgh, which provided two years of seed funding and established the University of Pittsburgh as the project’s home.

In 2020, John H. Smith (PI) was awarded a School of Humanities Digital Scholarly Projects Planning & Proof-of-Concept Grant at the University of California, Irvine, to support a variety of activities related to the lexicon project and to serve as a springboard for a future NEH grant application.

The GLPC has also received financial support from the English Goethe Society (EGS) and the Goethe Society of North America (GSNA).

As of 2022, the GLPC is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which enables us to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. If you would like to support our project with a donation or put us in contact with a potential benefactor, please contact Clark S. Muenzer.