The term “nostalgia” was initially coined by Johannes Holfer, a Swiss student in the 17th century. It was used to describe an illness, a sort of “homesickness”. He invented this term to explain the anxieties presented by Swiss mercenaries fighting far from home. Nostalgia today is generally linked to reminiscences of the so-called simpler times of the past. Svetlana Boym interprets Holfer's interpretation of the sufferers by stating that: "[they] have lost contact with the present" and fascinated by the "ability to hear voices or see ghosts." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The first American philosopher in postmodernity to resort to nostalgia as a channel of identity formation and preservation is Ralph Harper. He is called the “father of American existentialism”. Harper's seminal work, published in 1966 and entitled 'Nostalgia', is often shared with poetics to represent nostalgia: "Nostalgia combines bitterness and sweetness, the lost and the found, the distant and the near, the new and the familiar, absence and presence". . The past that is over, from which we have been or are about to be distanced, but a certain magic becomes present again for a short time. But its reality seems even more familiar, because it is renewed, more than ever, more enchanting and more adorable. As if by magic it arrives unsolicited, unexpected, in the midst of sterility and defeat, in the midst of a waste imbued with desire. And what we desire is what we don't usually have, a sense of the intimate and immediate presentation of the whole to our consciousness." Janelle Wilson demonstrates four key functions of nostalgia. These are: Nostalgia is an intrapersonal expression of self that subjectively provides a sense of continuity. Nostalgia is an interpersonal form of conversational play, which serves the purpose of bonding. Nostalgia is a form of ideologicalizing or mystifying the past. Nostalgia can be used as a cultural asset derived from the experience of a particular age cohort and transformed into a market segment. Like Edgerton, he describes what he experienced during his childhood: “Movement becomes significant in the sense that you can't just choose each other a place that is truly home. The place called 'home' is in many ways closer to being a part of the anatomy than a simple geographical location." As stated by Janelle Wilson, the concept of nostalgia encompasses a memory of the past, in the present and a plausible prediction of the future. Wilson suggests that nostalgia is not simply about the past, as it was conventionally described. However, it is actually stated that the matter is much more complicated. Nostalgia is not only situated in time but also established in space. While nostalgia is taken for granted to be more generally about time, it is also spatially situated. He points out that nostalgia allows sociologists a lot to examine and question. Sedikides, Wildschut, and Baden established that nostalgia can serve an existential function, providing some promise of having a meaningful life. In short, nostalgia can support a sense of substance. Sedikides and others, including Davis and Wilson, have highlighted the fact that nostalgia can help advance identity persistence. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay How one experiences nostalgia could also be beneficial to the entire community. There is a link between the fun aroma associated with nostalgia and the consequent..