Abstract

This chapter focuses on Gerda Walther’s early works on social communities and the ego to clarify the following questions: Why do individuals want to create a social community and why do they strive for connection with other human beings? To answer these questions, I start with the basic assumption that Walther understands human beings as social beings and I explain her concept of the human being. I demonstrate that the constitution of the human being, for Walther, consists of three parts: the ego or I-center, the self, and the fundamental essence of a human being. The analysis of the human being permits one to delineate which of the aforementioned constituent parts assists the individual to strive for social community and which parts are crucial for deciding to enter into social community. I argue that only by examining the essence of the individual is it possible to understand why persons wish to enter into community. Hence, this chapter will illustrate the Waltherian development of community that starts with the assumption that human beings are social beings who strive for being a part of a community and for being combined with other individuals. The development continues with the constitution of a human being, which consists of three parts, and it ends with the formation of a social community. In the end, I argue that Walther maintains the development from the individual to a community that is grounded in the assumption that human beings are both social and communal beings.